Look, I'm just going to say it: if you're not using AI in your creative workflow yet, you're already behind.

I know that sounds dramatic. But here's what I watched happen in 2024: Coca-Cola remade its entire holiday commercial with AI at one-tenth the cost. Zalando now generates 70% of product images with AI,90% cheaper, in days instead of weeks. H&M shoots full campaigns in 24 hours that used to take six weeks.

This isn't some far-off future scenario. This is happening right now, and the gap between brands that get it and brands that don't is widening every single quarter.

What frustrates me is how many smart people are still treating this like an experiment. Meanwhile, Sephora's AI try-on users convert at 3x the rate. Nike designed custom Olympic shoes in weeks using AI + 3D printing. Heinz turned a simple AI prompt into 1.15 billion impressions.

These aren't lucky wins. They're systemic advantages that compound over time.

So here's my take: the companies building AI workflows today will own their categories tomorrow. And if you're waiting for permission or for it to feel "safe," you're watching your competitors build moats you won't be able to cross.

Inside this issue:

✅ Cover Story: Creative AI Goes Operational — How brands cut costs 45-90% and produce campaigns in hours
✅ Swipe File: Heinz's AI Ketchup Play — Using AI to prove brand dominance, not just create content
✅ Spotlight: Gensmo's Permanent Playground — When Fashion Week tools become everyday commerce
✅ Fun Fact: A fashion milestone that broke barriers

🕒 Read time: 5 minutes — the time it takes H&M to produce what used to require six weeks.

Major Brands Are Cutting Creative Costs 90% With AI

Enterprise brands are already reaping the benefits of AI adoption

In November 2024, Coca-Cola remade its iconic "Holidays Are Coming" commercial entirely with AI. The campaign scored a perfect 5.9/5.9 on brand measurement at one-tenth the traditional cost. Three months later, H&M launched campaigns produced in 24 hours instead of six weeks, cutting costs by 45%. By mid-2025, Zalando was generating 70% of its product images with AI,90% cheaper, produced in days instead of weeks.

The shift is not theoretical. It is operational.

Why this matters

Creative AI has crossed from experiment to infrastructure. Brands now produce campaigns at speeds and costs that were impossible 18 months ago. This compression of time and budget is creating competitive gaps that compound every quarter. The companies moving now are building moats their competitors cannot easily close.

What it delivers

Speed advantage. H&M shoots campaigns in 24 hours. Nike designed custom Olympic shoes for 13 elite athletes using AI + 3D printing in weeks, not months. Toys 'R' Us premiered the first Sora-generated commercial at Cannes Lions in June 2024, created in weeks versus the traditional months-long process.

Cost transformation. The numbers are consistent: 45-90% reductions across fashion, beauty, and CPG. Mondelez invested $100M in AI, projecting $30-40M in annual savings. Klarna cut marketing costs 11% annually—$10M directly from AI. Atera saved up to $1M on a single campaign.

Conversion lift. Sephora's Virtual Artist users are 3x more likely to purchase. Returns dropped 30%. L'Oréal grew virtual try-on sessions from 40M to 100M in one year. Heinz's AI campaign generated 1.15 billion impressions with 38% higher engagement than previous campaigns.

Creative volume. Brands can now test 100 variations instead of three. More shots means more wins. The cost of iteration approaches zero.

What it means for different roles

The adoption pattern is clear. Fashion brands lead on AI models and production speed. Beauty brands dominate personalization and virtual try-ons. Athletic brands use AI for product design. CPG brands deploy it for campaign generation at scale.

But the opportunity window is narrowing. Most companies remain in pilot mode while leaders build operational advantages.

What to do now

If you are a student: Learn OpenAI, Midjourney, Runway, and Adobe Firefly immediately. These are table-stakes skills for 2026 creative roles. Build portfolios showing AI making you 10x more productive. Study why Nike's A.I.R. project and H&M's digital twins succeeded. The demand for AI-literate creatives is expanding faster than supply.

If you are a professional: Pitch an AI pilot this quarter. Start with high-volume repetitive work: social content, email creative, product photo variations. Frame it as amplification, not replacement. "What if we could test 50 variations instead of five?" Document everything. The people building creative AI workflows now will run departments in 18 months.

If you are a founder: Calculate your creative production costs and timelines. If Zalando cut 90% and you have not started, you are behind. Do not ask "should we use AI?" Ask "where are we bleeding time and money that AI could stop?" Start with product photos, ad variations, and social content. Test virtual try-ons if you sell fashion or beauty. Sephora's 3x conversion lift is not theoretical.

What brands should prioritize

1. Start with repetitive, high-volume work. Do not begin with your brand campaign. H&M started with product photography and campaign variations before expanding to full brand storytelling.

2. Measure everything. Track production time, cost per asset, conversion rates, and engagement. AI makes creativity measurable. Use that advantage.

3. Build AI literacy across teams. The bottleneck is not technology. It is people who can bridge creative vision and AI tools. Invest there first.

4. Stack quick wins. Launch small, measure fast, expand what works. Nike tested A.I.R. with 13 athletes before launching AirImagination for all fans. L'Oréal proved virtual try-ons worked before scaling to 100M sessions.

The timeline

In 2024, brands experimented. In 2025, they operationalized. By 2026, AI creative will be table stakes. The question is not whether to adopt. It is whether you move before your competition establishes an advantage you cannot close.

H&M produces campaigns in 24 hours. Sephora's AI users convert at 3x. Zalando cut production costs 90%. These are not future projections. These are active competitive advantages.

The gap is widening every quarter.

Swipe File (Real tactics used by real brands)

🍅 Heinz's AI Ketchup Dominance Play

What they did: Heinz asked DALL-E 2 to generate images of "ketchup" without mentioning any brand. Every result looked like a Heinz bottle. They turned this into a social campaign, inviting consumers to generate their own AI ketchup images. It became a viral demonstration of brand dominance.

Why it works:

• Brand strength proof: Instead of claiming they own ketchup, they let AI prove it. Brand equity became entertainment.

• Participation design: Users generating content amplified reach at zero cost.

• Measurable impact: 1.15 billion earned impressions, 38% higher engagement, and 2,500% ROI on media investment.

Lesson for founders & brand builders: Use AI to demonstrate what you already own, not just to create what you want. The best AI campaigns reveal something true about your market position and invite your audience to discover it with you.

The Runway Reel

The rise of AI browsers

View more on Instagram

Spotlight

This week’s pick:
Adobe LLM Optimizer — A Game-Changer for Brand Visibility

Last week, fashion AI platform Gensmo announced it's transforming its Fashion Week activation into a permanent "Shop by Brands" feature, following strong user engagement during September's fashion shows.

Why it matters:

During Fashion Week, Gensmo's "Brand Playground" combined live runway highlights with thousands of popular brands in an interactive digital board. User-generated fashion remixes quickly gained traction on TikTok and Instagram, with many fan creations outperforming official brand content.

According to founder and CEO Ning Hu, the response showed that "fans no longer want to just watch the runway—they want to live it, remix it, and share it."

What this means for brands:

• End-to-end shopping: Users can discover items, style complete looks, visualize outfits through AI try-on, purchase directly, and share across social channels—all in one platform

• Authentic engagement: User-driven content often resonates more than traditional campaigns, giving brands real-time insight into which looks spark participation

• Commerce meets creativity: The platform creates a continuous loop where discovery, creativity, and purchasing reinforce each other

The takeaway:

Fashion's traditional broadcast model is collapsing. The future belongs to platforms that turn audiences into co-creators, where the line between content and commerce disappears entirely

A Final Note

Fun Fact

Vera Wang didn't start her fashion brand until she was 41. Before founding her bridal empire, she worked as a figure skater, fashion editor at Vogue, and design director for Ralph Lauren.

Let me know what you thought of this edition.Until next time,