Creating a coffee brand ad concept with COLLIDE-AI
Spec commercials have long been a showcase for filmmakers to demonstrate their style, competence, and ambition. However, the recent release of Gen-3, Kling, Lumalab/Dream Machine, and other Gen-AI software has ushered in a new era of creative possibilities.
Gone are the days when Directors and Copywriters write scripts, then rely on storyboard artists and Art Director to deliver style frames to convince clients of their vision. With Gen.AI, we can now start visualizing ideas from the very first word on the page.
These tools offer clients and creatives new superpowers, allowing them to experiment with different concepts, tone, and timing without incurring significant costs or time commitments. It's not about replacing traditional methods like storyboards, previz, shooting, and production – but rather exploring new ways to express a visual style or direction within the creative process.
This process demonstrates the power of Gen.AI in the creative industry. It allows for rapid iteration, experimentation, and visualization of ideas in ways that were previously time-consuming and costly.
At Collide-AI, we've been at the forefront of this revolution. Over the past few years, we've had the opportunity to use Gen.AI to create something different, something new. For example, we developed a spec commercial for a coffee brand using LLama3's scriptwriting capabilities, then translated it into prompts with comfyui and then across to RunwayML Gen-3. The result was roughly 50 generations of content that served as the basis for the edit. The footage was upscaled to 4K using Topaz and then the grade was added in Resolve.
Ritual by COLLIDE-AI
As we continue to explore the possibilities of Gen.AI in advertising and filmmaking, we're excited about the potential for even more innovative and engaging content creation.
With the brand concept below the team at Collide-AI headed by @Bob. Now We Collide experimented to see how far we could push Generative AI to create an ad that captures the mood and ritual of the first morning coffee, not only using Gen.AI to create all the vision, but also the voice over.
Interested in learning more about how Gen.AI can transform your creative process? Let's grab a coffee and chat.
Google’s recent announcement about integrating generative AI into its search engine marks a significant shift in the digital advertising landscape. As the tech giant rolls out its AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the US, with plans for a global launch in the coming months, advertisers must adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Here we explore the implications of Google’s AI-driven search for advertisers and provide actionable insights to navigate this new frontier.
The New Search Landscape Google’s SGE introduces a conversational, AI-generated narrative that dominates the search results page, pushing organic links further down. This shift has the potential to disrupt traditional SEO strategies and significantly impact referral traffic to websites. Early analysis suggests that publishers and brands could experience a 40-45% decline in referral traffic as Google’s AI engine, Gemini, creates content based on its own recommendations, minimising the need for users to visit the source websites.
While the new search format may present challenges for organic traffic, it also opens up new advertising opportunities. Google has begun testing ads that appear above, within, and below the AI-generated results. Advertisers must now consider how to optimise their ad content and placement to ensure maximum visibility and engagement within this new context.
To succeed in this AI-driven search environment, advertisers should consider:
Prioritise ad relevance: With AI-generated content dominating the search results, ads must be highly relevant to the user’s query to capture attention and drive clicks.
Adapt ad copy: Advertisers should experiment with ad copy that complements the conversational tone of the AI-generated results, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Leverage AI-powered tools: Utilise Google’s AI-powered advertising tools, such as responsive search ads and smart bidding, to optimize ad performance and stay competitive.
Monitor performance closely: As the new search format rolls out, advertisers must closely monitor their campaigns’ performance and make data-driven adjustments to maximise ROI.
Preparing for the Global Rollout While the SGE is currently limited to the US, advertisers worldwide should start preparing for the global launch. Australia, in particular, may experience a delayed rollout due to the ongoing Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into search and the Federal Government’s media bargaining code. However, this presents an opportunity for Australian advertisers to learn from the US experience and refine their strategies accordingly.
For advertisers to stay ahead of the curve, here are some initial recommendations:
Stay informed: Keep a close eye on industry news and updates regarding the global rollout of Google’s AI-powered search. Publications such as https://www.therundown.ai/ as well as Google's Blog.
Analyse and review the performance of US-based campaigns to identify best practices and potential pitfalls.
Adapt strategies proactively: Begin adjusting advertising strategies and budgets to accommodate the anticipated changes in search behaviour and ad performance.
Foster collaboration: Work closely with agency partners and industry peers to share insights and develop innovative solutions to the challenges posed by AI-driven search.
Embracing the AI-Powered Future Google’s integration of generative AI into its search engine represents a significant milestone in the evolution of digital advertising. While the shift may present challenges for traditional SEO and referral traffic, it also opens up new opportunities for advertisers to engage with their target audiences in innovative ways.
As advertising and marketing undergoes a rapid transformation at an unprecedented pace, it is crucial to recognize the revolutionary power and impact of generative AI is having on our daily working lives. At Collide-AI, a division of Now We Collide, we are at the forefront of this revolution, harnessing the capabilities of AI to find new and exciting ways to deliver projects, while uncovering incredible efficiencies along the way. However, amidst the excitement surrounding AI, it is essential to acknowledge the irreplaceable role of human creativity and expertise in shaping the future of how we work.
In this new era of AI, ‘The Age of Intelligence’, I firmly believe that the success of our industry lies in the synergy between this advanced new technology and human ingenuity. While AI offers immense possibilities, it is the human touch that truly brings the magic to life. At Collide-AI, we have identified four critical human skills that are essential for thriving in this AI-driven world: critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethics, and passion.
Critical thinking is a foundation upon which we build AI-powered campaigns. It allows us to analyse the vast amounts of information and outputs generated by AI, ensuring its accuracy, and to make strategic decisions based on the insights provided by the machine. Critical thinking allows humans to discern between valuable information and noise, ensuring that AI-generated content aligns with the desired objectives. This human discernment is crucial in navigating the complex landscape of AI-driven advertising, enabling us to create campaigns that are not only data and insights driven but also strategically sound.
Emotional intelligence is another vital human skill that sets us apart, providing critical human input. While AI can generate visually stunning and highly personalized content, it is the human understanding of emotions that truly connects with audiences on a deep level. Our team’s ability to empathize with the target audience, craft compelling narratives, and evoke powerful emotions is what transforms our AI-generated content into memorable and impactful experiences. By combining the efficiency of AI with the emotional depth of human creativity, we can create campaigns that forge lasting bonds between brands and consumers.
Ethics and responsibility are at the core of everything we do at Collide-AI. As we harness the power of AI, we are acutely aware of the potential risks and challenges that come with this technology. Our human judgment and moral compass ensure that we develop and deploy AI in a manner that is transparent, accountable, and aligned with our values. We should actively work to mitigate biases, protect user privacy, and promote inclusivity and diversity in the AI-generated content we create. By upholding ethical standards, we not only create a responsible approach to working with AI but also contribute to shaping the future of AI in our industry.
Passion is a driving force behind our work at Collide-AI. Our team’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what is possible using LLMs fuels our innovation and sets us apart in the industry. Don’t be content with simply leveraging AI for efficiency; be passionate about exploring new ways to combine AI with human creativity to create truly groundbreaking concepts, strategies and outcomes. This passion is evident in every project we undertake, from meticulous attention to detail in our AI-augmented content, to the ongoing pursuit of delivering exceptional results for our clients.
Our recent collaboration with ESPN on the “Your Home For Hoops” campaign exemplifies the power of combining AI with human creativity. In our third year of the campaign, we set the ambitious goal of using Generative AI as the main creative, design, and animation pipeline. By leveraging generative AI, we aimed to create a unique visual style and experience that would captivate basketball fans and excite them about ESPN’s basketball offering.
The success of the campaign relied on the seamless fusion of artificial intelligence and human expertise. Led by Bob Connelly, Now We Collide’s Director of Generative AI, along with our in-house team of creatives, strategists, and technologists, we worked hand-in-hand with our very own AI diffusion pipeline, guiding its input data and generated outputs, to ensure that it aligned with ESPN’s brand identity, resonated with their target audience, and adhered to the quality standards we were after. The human touch was essential in refining the AI-generated content, injecting emotional depth, and crafting visual narratives that struck a chord with basketball fans.
Throughout the campaign, we relied on critical thinking to evaluate the AI’s output and make strategic decisions that would maximize the impact of our message. Human emotional intelligence allowed us to understand the passion and excitement of the game, the players and the moments, enabling us to create gen AI outputs that truly connected with audiences on an emotional level.
The success of the “Your Home For Hoops” campaign is a testament to the power of combining AI with human creativity and ingenuity. By leveraging the strengths of both, we were able to deliver a campaign that maximized reach and engagement within the rapidly growing niche audience of basketball fans. This campaign serves as a great example of what is possible when we embrace the synergy between AI and human ingenuity to find new ways to create.
As we navigate this exciting new era of AI-driven advertising, it is crucial to remember that technology is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity. The future of advertising belongs to those who can successfully navigate the intersection of AI and human expertise, leveraging the strengths of both to create truly groundbreaking campaigns.
By fostering a culture that values critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethics, and passion, we are poised to lead the industry into a future where AI and human creativity collide, delivering unparalleled experiences for brands and consumers alike.
The “Your Home For Hoops” campaign is just the beginning of what we can achieve, and as we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with AI, we remain committed to our belief that the human touch will always be the driving force behind the most impactful and memorable campaigns.
The rise of AI in advertising presents both challenges and opportunities. We are excited to be at the forefront of this revolution, leading the way in harnessing the power of AI while celebrating the irreplaceable value of human creativity.
As we embark on this exciting journey, we hope brands and advertisers will join us in exploring the limitless possibilities that arise when AI and human creativity find synergy. Together, we can create a future where advertising not only informs and persuades but also inspires and connects on a deeper, more meaningful level.
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COLLIDE-AI is a groundbreaking division of full service agency Now We Collide, dedicated to providing state-of-the-art generative AI solutions for advertising and marketing. By harnessing the power of advanced AI technologies, such as large language models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and synthetic media creation, Collide-AI empowers businesses to create captivating, data-driven content.
A synergy of human ingenuity and artificial intelligence to create a new paradigm of possibilities.
As a certified HubSpot agency partner, the team at Now We Collide are excited about the latest updates to HubSpot's platform. These AI-powered features are game-changers for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to compete with larger brands in today's fast-paced digital landscape.
HubSpot's Service Hub has received significant upgrades aimed at improving customer conversations, addressing problem areas, and driving retention. The new AI-powered help desk allows human agents to monitor real-time ticket updates across various channels while the AI can summarise lengthy tickets and generate responses on their behalf. This streamlines the customer service process, enabling SMEs to provide exceptional support without overburdening their teams.
One of the most exciting additions to Service Hub is the support agent, which HubSpot's Executive Vice President of Product, Andy Pitre, describes as the "killer feature." This bot provides accurate trained responses to customer queries through HubSpot's live chat tool referencing a company’s knowledge base articles. This feature aligns perfectly with our belief that content is a key element of inbound marketing across digital and social media.
Moreover, HubSpot is introducing customer success tools to help businesses proactively retain customers. The AI-powered health scoring feature allows account managers to prioritise which customers they should reconnect with based on various signals, such as last interaction, upcoming renewal dates, and product usage. This proactive approach to customer success is crucial for SMEs looking to maximise customer lifetime value and foster long-term relationships.
Another significant update is the rebranding of CMS Hub to Content Hub, now powered by AI. This change reflects the evolving role of content in an AI-driven world. Organisations can now use AI to build website pages, compose blog posts, generate product images, and more. The content remixing feature is particularly exciting, as it allows businesses to easily repurpose content for multiple use cases, such as creating social media posts or podcast versions of blog posts.
At Now We Collide, we believe that AI is a transformative technology that levels the playing field for SMEs. These updates to HubSpot's platform empower businesses to compete by providing them with the tools and virtual assistance needed to create engaging marketing campaigns and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
As Keir Maher, CEO of Now We Collide, states, "HubSpot's AI-powered updates to Service Hub and Content Hub are a testament to their commitment to helping businesses of all sizes thrive in the digital economy. By leveraging these tools and partnering with a certified HubSpot agency like Now We Collide, organisations can unlock their full potential and achieve sustainable growth."
We are excited to help our clients navigate these new features and integrate them into their marketing strategies. With HubSpot's AI-powered tools and our expertise in inbound marketing, we are confident that SMEs can create valuable content, attract and retain customers, and ultimately drive revenue and results.
COLLIDE-AI is a groundbreaking division of Now We Collide, dedicated to providing state-of-the-art generative AI solutions for advertising and marketing. By harnessing the power of advanced AI technologies, such as large language models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and synthetic media creation, Collide-AI empowers businesses to create captivating, data-driven content.
Now We Collide is a Sydney, Australia-based creative agency that is embracing AI as part of their everyday. We talk to Ryan Bodger, co-founder and now the CCO about navigating AI via their arm Collide-AI and what this entails.
Ryan, give us the backstory – who are you and where did you come from?
A couple of decades ago, I started out as a junior broadcast cameraman and video editor at the Nine Network, where I stayed for a few years until the transition to a new digital world took hold through the dot com bubble in the late ’90s. In 1998 I co-founded the digital agency Tricky Design (now 24digital.com.au) and delivered campaigns and projects for high profile clients including Telstra, IBM and NAB (to name a few).
In 2003 I was given the opportunity to work in Japan as the Digital Creative Director for Nikkei Net, Japan’s largest news corporation, taking the lead in the redesign and development of Nikkei Net’s English website.
In 2006 I landed back in Sydney and went on to co-found Now We Collide with business partner and CEO Keir Maher in 2015, where I now work as CCO, with an awesome team, overseeing and delivering digitally integrated campaigns and projects for a broad range of great clients.
You have a great range of clients – do you focus on certain sectors, or enjoy the breadth and variety?
We are lucky in that the client partnerships we have built over the years have continued to grow and prosper. We have really spent the time nurturing them, helping them achieve their business goals while building strong relationships. While we don’t focus on particular verticals we specialise in helping big global brands deliver their marketing efforts across APAC and other regions.
Your website states you are pioneers in the field of AI – how are you working in the AI space?
Right now we are witnessing the rapid advancement of deep neural networks in language, image, audio and video synthesis, resulting in remarkably precise, realistic, and customisable outputs. What was once blurry and low-resolution has now transformed into highly realistic and aesthetically impressive imagery, ushering in a new era of synthetic media. In late 2022 we setup Collide-AI driven by a passion to test, experiment and learn what this new technology can do, while seeing an opportunity to bring it into our everyday workflow.
How do you see the future of AI changing the face of a typical agency?
At COLLIDE-AI we believe that AI is not the creative solution for all projects or briefs. It doesn't provide all the answers, or simply replace more traditional creative development or production, nor should it. It is our belief that AI should be adopted as another creative tool for brands and marketers to get their message to market, at speed, in unique and exciting ways. We are conscious of the ethical issues surrounding its use and ensure we are not using it in the wrong way, using specific artists as reference for style and output. What is incredible about generative AI is the way we can come up with new ideas we may never of dreamed of in a much shorter period of time. This is based on how we are using it, prompting and engineering our outputs. It is not a simple process of prompting a few words in and hoping for the best. The processes we use, especially for AI video, is quite complex and uses a number of tools and techniques to get results that push the boundaries. In terms of the future and changing face of the typical agency, I think it is up to agencies to find the AI tools that suit their style or approach best, to find ways to adapt. There is no value in sticking your head in the sand and being stuck in old ways, the game has definitely changed.
Covering Content Marketing – Do you recommend HubSpot as the main tool? How & why would you recommend this CRM for clients?
We work with our clients from developing initial strategy, through to creative and ideation, content creation and media distribution. HubSpot is a fantastic platform to help us understand how all this comes together to achieve objectives and gain insights on what's working and how to optimise. HubSpot connects marketing activities, with sales, content management and customer service - so it really allows us to see the full customer lifecycle and understand the impact of marketing throughout all those stages. We work closely with our clients to ensure they are getting the best out of the software and we collaborate to gain insights, plan and optimise marketing activities.
What has been your most exciting creative to work on to date?
As a person with a life long love of playing and watching basketball, a campaign we recently delivered was for ESPN, creating their brand platform ‘Your Home For Hoops’. This initiative has been in development for a few years now and it has been exciting to see it unfold through such a strong period of growth for basketball in Australia. I’d like to think the campaigns we have run for ESPN, NBA, NBL, NBA Basketball School in Australia have helped to fuel this interest and growth. What has been most exciting about it, is the opportunity it has given us to push the creative boundaries and experiment with many different ideas, production techniques and concepts. You can check out some of the work here.
How do you curate a positive culture at Now We Collide?
By being open, honest and collaborative with our clients, our team and everyone we come into contact. Early Fridays' in summer, flexible working, rostered birthdays off, fun events, regular 'community days' where we give back to the community, the odd long lunch and gatherings and a passion for nurturing ideas and creativity also helps.
Do you look to other companies / have a mentor – whether that is in Australia or overseas?
I’ve been lucky enough to end up with a business partner who at times acts as a mentor, keeps my wandering creative mind on the straight and narrow and ensures things are as much about function as well as form.
As far as other companies go for inspiration I have always had a curiosity for tech-enabled creativity, so am always on the lookout for people, agencies or artists doing new, incredible things, be it here or overseas. I feel like the space for creative innovation is now more exciting than it has ever been before.
How has 2023 been for you? What are you looking forward to in 2024?
2023 has been exciting but challenging. Coming out of Covid posed many new challenges. I felt empathy for employees and clients who had effectively been working in a bubble for over two years, while this year gave people an opportunity to properly reconnect and travel again without as many rules and restrictions. I think people came into 2023 feeling quite restless with a need to explore again. As an agency, we doubled in size during COVID so it was a tricky juggle to find new talent and integrate them into the business. 2023 has opened things back up and brought the team back into the office, which is so important as a creative agency. 2024 will be another exciting year for us with many new and exciting projects currently in the pipes set to launch in the new year.
If you work in advertising or digital marketing, some of today’s emerging technology might seem a little threatening. But just as television didn’t kill the radio, intuitive AI won’t spell doom for human creativity either. Ryan Bodger, Chief Creative Officer at Now We Collide, explains why we should look on the bright side.
Not long ago I was working with a client and telling them about the improvement I’d seen in AI-generated copy. They were, it’s safe to say, dubious.
So we did a little experiment and produced a few different versions answering the copywriting brief they’d sent our way. Oh, and one we slipped in there was produced by an AI source.
Lo and behold, their preferred option was penned by the machine.
Others were at it before us. In 2018, Lexus released an advertisement completely scripted by AI. The company used IBM Watson, an AI system, to analyse 15 years of award-winning car ads. Watson managed to identify the elements of successful ads that resonated most with audiences - and did it with aplomb.
If this sounds like an unconvincing way to open a piece reassuring you that the machines aren’t going to put creatives out of business, well, fair enough.
But bear with me, because where pure creativity is concerned, I’m convinced AI is the assistant we need right now and not an existential threat. Here’s why.
In the media and technology industries machine learning has thus far mostly been associated with measurement. In recent years we’ve been swamped by a sudden deluge of data with no way to make sense of it. The solution was AI.
Ask most people and they’d say machines replacing human brains for repetitive tabulation tasks is a good thing. Well, AI can do something very similar for creatives. There are now huge efficiencies to be had in developing concepts and getting them back to clients quickly.
At Now We Collide, for example, we’re already experimenting with art and text generators like Open AI & Broca for copy, tagline and idea generation. And we’re running tests on video and animation solutions that can help our designers come up with new ideas and expedite existing ones (see below).
We’re also using MidJourney, Dall-e2 and Stable Diffusions DreamStudio for visual concept development and content generation. It’s a new and exciting world - and one that can make us much more efficient as businesses.
In many cases, having this AI in our toolkit means tasks that would’ve taken two to three weeks from conception to delivery can be achieved much quicker. And this is especially important when speed to market is key to keeping share-of-voice high for most brands.
Measuring up in a creative space
In the world of measurement you’ll often hear people from tech companies extolling the virtues of giving the AI the richest data possible. The theory being that what you put in correlates strongly with what you get out. This is having some interesting knock on effects in the creative realm.
We’re now considering the types of roles the intersection of human output and AI technology is creating. There’s now a place in businesses like ours for what we are calling the Prompt Architect or Engineer. This is a role that involves workingwith AI, providing it with the right stimulus, or ‘prompts’ in order to get the best possible results.
Of course, we’ll never replace the human element entirely, but the ability to maximise the output of AI shapes as a very important new job skill. It’s an interesting inversion to think that great results can come from humans learning machine learning language, rather than us teaching AI what to do. And if you’re not convinced of AI’s efficacy yet, well, we’re already seeing some exciting developments in the fashion and cosmetics space. In the example pictured below, the model, hair and makeup were all created by an AI source in under two hours - derived from refining a single prompt sheet of images.
Image generated in Midjourney
And while AI used in this way could be disruptive for the fashion industry, it’s fair to assume this approach isn’t going to work for everyone just yet. But given the potential, I think that brands and marketers will certainly be interested in faster, more cost-effective ways to get their messages to market.
For creative businesses, there are simple ways you can experiment too. Being a big basketball fan, and working with ESPN on creating ‘Your Home For Hoops’ brand platform, I’ve started a BallArt Instagram account as a way to experiment and explore new visual concepts. Just by showcasing what’s possible via AI creativity, it provides us with a way to quickly realise which ideas work with a specific audiences.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the rise of machine learning in the creative space for me, though, is the ability to generate fresh ideas and new ways of thinking at a much quicker pace. A lot of effort goes into ideation, and having a collection of thought starters can be a very powerful thing. If you’re still not convinced, then consider this. For agencies - particularly smaller Indies like us - leaning into this technology can also be a great selling point for clients. It’s a sign you move with the times and embrace agility - and that you’re not afraid to experiment with new trends in the quest for success.
For brands, I say, don’t be scared of it. Embrace it, test it and work with those who are doing likewise. At the end of the day, it’s just another software solution, but one that could really make a difference to your next campaign.
