We are in an epidemic of doing without thinking.

AI has made it incredibly easy to produce something.
An image. A post. An ad. A piece of brand communication.

But just because something can be made in seconds doesn’t mean it should be put in front of your customers.

This Spider-Man poster was drawn by a cinema employee because the official artwork hadn’t arrived. It’s imperfect. But it has character. It has a story. Somebody cared enough to solve the problem with what they had. And it is more memorable than most of the AI-generated content brands are dishing up.

We all understand that the secret to a quality product is quality ingredients. Product is king. Obsess over the product. Only use the best ingredients. So why do businesses put enormous care into what they make, then surround it with cheap, thoughtless communication that strips away its integrity?

Before prompting AI to create something for your brand, ask: What does this give us? How will our customers see it? What problem does it solve? And what problem might it create? Good brand strategy starts with questions like these, not with making things.

This isn't an anti AI rant. AI has its uses. But it isn’t a substitute for thinking. So, I suppose this is a pro thinking rant.

If you’re struggling to create something, take a photo on your phone. Typeset a simple poster. Hell, draw one by hand.

It might not be perfect, but it will probably have more character, relevance and connection to your brand than another piece of fictitious AI imagery.

If the secret to a quality product is quality ingredients. Then the secret to a well-built brand is quality thinking?

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