AI cannot make election ads on its own, creative director says

Anyone can make election videos and advertisements, but that does not mean everyone knows how to do it, creative director Madis Ots of the Salama agency told ERR’s Aktuaalne kaamera news programme. Artificial intelligence remains a tool, he said, and people still need to guide and assess its work.

Asked about price pressure from clients, Ots said it was not specific to his industry: clients’ circumstances reflected the state of the economy as a whole.

The basic principles of advertising still apply to political campaigns, he said. Political advertising has the added challenge of building and maintaining a party’s overall brand while also presenting individual politicians, who each have their own public image and can reinforce the party’s brand.

Campaigns do not have to choose between showing a party leader and using other approaches, such as a family looking to the future or a well-known person endorsing a party, Ots said. The party’s image and the people expected to carry out its aims should work together, he added.

Having a good camera phone does not automatically make someone a photographer, Ots said, and the same applies to making campaign videos. AI can be a powerful tool, but people must decide whether they are using it or letting it take over. For now, he said, human judgment remains essential.

Giveaways such as pens and mugs bearing a candidate’s portrait can still have a place, depending on the audience and situation, Ots said. Some people may welcome them as a way to start a conversation, while others may mock them or look unfavourably on advertising in general.

Tags: election advertising, artificial intelligence, Estonia