Brands that used AI in creating their ads

Last week I had a meeting with a client. AI came up. He said no serious brand will ever use AI to create ads. That brands using AI are cutting corners, that it kills creativity. I said brands are already using AI for social media posts, ads, visuals and variations. I said this will only increase next year, especially on social platforms.

The conversation ended there, so did the collaboration.

What he said didn’t surprise me. The gap between what people think is happening and what is actually happening in advertising is getting wider.

Let's see what brands used AI and what people think about this.

1. NIKE

Nike used AI during the creative phase. Testing visuals, exploring motion, trying different directions before committing.The final work still looks like Nike because people made the decisions.

Public reaction here was mostly neutral to positive. Very few people talked about AI. They talked about performance, visuals and athletes. When AI stays invisible, people don’t care.

2. HEINZ

Heinz launched playful AI imagery ads asking tools to generate creative ketchup visuals. Audiences generally found these amusing because they leaned into brand identity and humor rather than trying to be serious storytelling.

The reaction was largely lighthearted and the campaign became a talking point about AI’s fun side in marketing.

3. GOOGLE

Google itself released a broadcast-ready AI-generated television commercial for Thanksgiving, which demonstrates real brand usage in video advertising.

Google declined to label the ad as AI-generated publicly, reflecting a broader trend where companies test AI video ads without calling attention to the tech. There are no major public backlash reports yet. 

4. McDonald’s

McDonald’s Netherlands released a video ad made with AI. The characters and scenes were generated digitally. Viewers widely reacted negatively, calling the visuals “creepy,” “unsettling,” and “inauthentic.” The ad was taken down after backlash, and comments were disabled because of the volume of criticism. 

Other brands are already using AI in advertising, even if the work doesn’t always stay public. Some are testing AI in short campaigns, social posts, or experimental videos and then removing them. Lexus, H&M, Vogue, BMW, Zara, Valentino, and Guess have all used AI in different parts of their advertising or campaign visuals. In many cases, the content appeared briefly on social platforms, sparked reactions and then disappeared.

Right now, you can still tell which ads or visuals are made with AI. Brands can’t really hide it yet, but give it one more year. You won’t be debating whether something was made with AI anymore. You’ll just be watching it and most of the time you won’t even think to ask.