The Start of a Beautiful Toxic Friendship: Media Companies Embracing AI

Written by Kathryn Bernard

A game-changing force is taking center stage. Its name? Artificial intelligence. It’s official! AI has arrived in Hollywood and from the looks of it, it’s the new star of the show. On September 18th, 2024, Lionsgate, a major film and entertainment studio, officially partnered with AI research company Runway. The deal stirred up speculation, especially among consumers, as partnerships between AI companies and major corporations become increasingly common—particularly in the advertising world.

Many brands are overlooking or aren’t aware of the negative impacts of the current trendiest angel in disguise. AI is cutting down on companies' spending costs, and content is becoming abundant. Many brands are also witnessing enhanced ROI (return on investment). The content produced by AI data follows trends, predicts consumer behavior, and takes feedback and results from past campaigns. If you were head of marketing, wouldn’t you want to use such software? On the consumer side, AI can create more personalized advertisements, showing consumers ads for products they are interested in and would consider purchasing, thanks to Google bots. 

Along with performance marketing, advertisers have been tampering with AI technology to create a variety of products at rapid speeds. Media today is all about pushing content while limiting costs and time. While businesses are thriving, it’s hard not to wonder: does this bold leap into AI truly serve the consumer?

The answer: Although this technology is still in its infancy, research shows that many consumers are against the use of AI-generated content, especially in advertisements. The human eye typically notices when artificial intelligence is embedded into a piece of work. Think about it. Can you clock a sentence or photo that ChatGPT generated? Probably. As consumers, it's disheartening when we see AI being used by our favorite brands. Unconsciously, it forces us to rethink the brand’s credibility and ultimately leads us to its competitors.

Even well-known, fan-favorite brands are taking the heat. Adobe faces major backlash for ignoring users' concerns regarding the company's new AI content creation tools and how they are trained on public domain data. Consumers, rightfully so, worry that their private work is being used and fed into these new Adobe AI models. The company has yet to address these concerns, ignoring the negative perceptions of AI. Meanwhile, other organizations are listening and taking the pledge to ban AI from their work.

Dove is a respected brand that has listened to consumer input.  In a new ad titled “The Code,” Dove shows AI’s interpretation of the most beautiful woman in the world, which resulted in a blonde, white woman, compared to their own. They used AI technology for the first time to prove a point. When “the most beautiful women in the world, according to Dove Real Beauty AD,” was typed in, the results showcased the beautiful, diverse women that make up their brand, ensuring viewers that all women, no matter their age, race, or ethnicity, are truly beautiful. Consumers raved about the heartwarming message and innovative use of AI, so much so that brand favorability and appeal increased from 3.9 norms to 4.2 after the campaign kicked off. 

BU AdLab