“Very little creativity. It was a bad year for ads.” That was how Mike Hale, the TV critic from the New York Times, summarized his take of this years Super Bowl ads. But his statement also encapsulates a broader issue within the advertising industry, which is a shift away from smart, compelling breakout creative work, to safe, risk adverse and clichéd ideas. 

This has been happening over the past decade or so but seems to be accelerating more recently. So, what’s driving this shift away from great creative work?

There are many factors affecting the quality of creative work coming out of agencies these days. One issue is the obsessive focus on data and metrics. To maximize ROI many clients, prioritize data-driven approaches to campaigns, this can sacrifice creativity and emotional appeal in favor of predictable, safe messaging. This leads to a lack of originality. And, with so many ads vying for attention, many brands resort to similar strategies, resulting in generic and repetitive content. 

We’ve yet to really see the effects that AI will have on creative in advertising, but early indications don’t look good. Generative AI is built entirely on using content that already exists to “Create” something new, however it’s not really creating anything “New”, it’s repurposing and combining other creative elements that already exist. This will ultimately lead to a type of homogenization of creative work, where everything starts to look and feel the same. It’s already happening with some of the images and videos you see online. 

Another major issue for Ad Agencies is their lack of investment in top tier creative talent. Salaries for Ad Agency creatives have stayed stagnant for the best part of 20 years and the industry is rife with ageism (I could write a whole other blog on this). Once you hit 50 many folks in the business feel that you can no longer do interesting or edgy work. This of course is absolute nonsense. Let’s face it, the best creative work being produced today is being done by independent content creators on various social platforms. 

The last issue I’ll mention is the lack of courage from both Clients and Agencies. It’s difficult to do really creative work and sometimes you need to take a leap of faith on an idea that’s never been done before. It’s much easier to choose safe options and, in the case of Superbowl ads, throw in a celebrity for good measure. This type of risk aversion is the death knell for great creative work. 

As a creative director for almost 30 years, when I’m looking for inspiration from my peers I’m usually drawn to smaller independent creative agencies and lesser-known brands to see the creative work that interests me most. You won’t find it at the big shops.