In today’s ever-changing and challenging communications industry we’re all looking for efficiencies. Naturally, there’s a temptation to hand copywriting over to your AI platform of choice. And why not? You’ll get thirty headline options and fifteen nicely constructed sentences in a nanosecond. But whilst this will, without a doubt save time, will it save money in the long term or is it a costly mistake?
No prizes for guessing which side of the fence this copywriter falls on, but this isn’t a pitch for me to keep my job. It’s an honest run-down of why investing in great advertising copy is more important than ever before.
The most pressing question any marketer needs to ask themselves is: do you want your brand to be recognisable and memorable or are you happy to blend in with all the crowd?
Can AI produce truly great advertising copy?
Whilst there are no rules when it comes to advertising creative, there are a few fundamental principals that creatives always bear in mind. Adverts should be clear, distinctive and above all, they should make you feel something. Together, these three things add up to something that inspires action.
AI is eminently capable of writing copy that is fluent, clear and persuasive. But as it draws on patterns that already exist it writes copy that is also familiar, derivative and predictable. Not so good for anyone looking for an advert that piches their brand above their competitors. Great advertising copy plays on your fears or pulls at the heart strings, AI simply doesn’t have the instinct to do this effectively (at least not yet).
It’s not just forward-thinking clients who are demanding great advertising copy, written by an actual human, consumers do too. People are surprisingly good at recognising AI generated content, even if this isn’t a conscious realisation. Let’s not forget that as advertisers, we have people’s attention for a very short window. Customers don’t ponder over an ad considering whether it was generated by a human or machine, they like it or they don’t.
Increasingly, people are viewing or reading AI content and it feels “off”, they don’t know or particularly care why, just that it doesn’t work for them. A recent study be NeilsonIQ found that consumers found AI created ads less engaging, more annoying and more confusing than human created content. The study also found AI copy performed poorly when it came to memory activation. Interestingly a study by NY Stern found that just telling people an ad is AI created can reduce it’s effectiveness. Consumers perceive AI generated advertising as less authentic, lower effort and less original. Certainly not positive attributes any thriving business would want associated with their brand.
Why a “human-centric” approach pays off
Storytelling and wordcraft have always been an integral part of advertising campaigns. Words alone have an ability to hit hard and deep, leaving an impression that can last for decades. AI couldn’t have written “Probably the best lager in the world”. On the face of it, it makes no sense as a campaign line and would be rejected by the logical AI machine. But our human brains loved it. Similarly, “You know when you’ve been tango’d”. You can’t arrive here rationally, it requires some off-beat and truly original thinking.
We’re not saying AI doesn’t have a place in copywriting. Got a thousand product descriptions to write for your website? Knock yourself out, get straight on Copilot, GPT, whatever, for that job. Looking to write something that helps makes you stand out and leave a lasting impression? Then you need to work harder.
Great advertising copy, written by humans is not a luxury. It’s noticed and appreciated by consumers and ultimately impacts on advertising performance. Quite simply, if you want advertising that works, you’ve got to put the effort in to writing the copy. If you don’t have the skills to write the copy yourself then do yourself a favour and get the professionals in. The payoff will be in the results.
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