Puma’s AI-Generated Ad: A New Playbook for Creativity?

Puma just ran a bold experiment with AI in advertising. Partnering with agency Monks, the sports brand used hundreds of AI agents to build an ad from scratch, handling everything from concept ideation to scriptwriting and video generation. Unlike traditional generative AI, which usually requires human prompting and oversight, these agents worked collaboratively, passing ideas between one another to refine and finalize the ad. The result? A fully AI-generated, one-minute spot, produced in just five weeks.

Of course, AI still has its quirks—like an unfortunate weightlifter with extra fingers, a classic generative AI slip-up. But Monks sees this project as more than just an ad. It’s a prototype for a new AI-driven creative pipeline that could be used for future Puma content, as well as for other major brands like Google, BMW, and General Motors. The agency also used the opportunity to announce a deeper partnership with Nvidia, leveraging its AI tech, including the Cosmo video model and Meta’s Llama, to power the ad’s production.

While AI-generated content is gaining traction, the future remains a little fuzzy. What is the role of the human in this evolving world? Even Monks’ innovation chief Henry Cowling acknowledged the controversy, but he sees AI agents as a tool to enhance creative capabilities rather than replace them. As brands and agencies explore this new technology, the challenge will be finding the right balance between automation and human creativity.

Full story at AdAge.