Meta aims to fully automate ad creation using AI
This past week, Meta announced a move to fully automate ad creation using AI. This marks a shift for the advertising industry, enabling the creation of high-quality and personalized content at scale and signaling growing trust in AI’s ability to effectively deliver on creative tasks.
With Meta’s new ad tools, a brand can simply provide an image of the product it wants to promote and set a budget goal. From there, AI will generate the complete ad, covering visuals, video, and copy. The system will then enable smarter decision making by determining the most relevant Instagram and Facebook users to target, and even recommending budget adjustments for optimized outcomes. This significantly democratizes access to high-quality creative, enables even smaller brands to compete with larger players, and frees up human talent to focus on strategy and big-picture thinking against a landscape where budgets and marketing resources are continuously shrinking. Ultimately, increased trust in AI for ad creation will drive innovation, efficiency, and relevance and those who fail to embrace it will fall behind.
Cassie Gonzalez, Campaign Director
Value, not social issues, are top priorities amid tariff turmoil
U.S. consumers are prioritizing product quality and price over brand values, according to a recent study by the Kearney Consumer Institute. While 68% believe brands should voice their values, only 39% reported boycotting a brand in the past year. Key purchasing considerations include good quality (69%), fair price (63%), and reliability (46%). Notably, “locally made” products are valued more than sustainability or brand trust, indicating a shift towards tangible value over ideological alignment. Despite this, half (51%) of consumers have ceased shopping at brands misaligned with their values, suggesting that while economic factors dominate, brand ethics still influence decisions.
Understanding this balance is crucial for marketers aiming to connect with today’s consumers. Emphasizing product quality and fair pricing in messaging can address immediate consumer concerns, especially as half (51%) express significant worry about tariffs. Simultaneously, integrating authentic brand values, such as community support or ethical practices, can resonate with consumers’ desire for value-aligned purchases. Marketers might consider highlighting local sourcing or community initiatives, offering transparent pricing strategies, and maintaining consistent value-driven narratives across campaigns. This dual approach ensures relevance in a value-conscious market while fostering long-term brand loyalty through shared values.
Kristen Burton, Senior Market Research Director
AI in beauty marketing: Achieving a balance between automation and authenticity
The use of AI in beauty marketing is accelerating rapidly, spanning everything from product development and personalization to virtual try-ons, influencer partnerships, and customer experience. For example, L’Oréal recently shared that AI will be central to how the company builds and delivers brand experiences. Mark Lallemand, the company’s CMO of Western Europe, noted that AI is helping accelerate campaign timelines – due in part to L’Oréal’s CReAITECH lab, which leverages generative AI models to produce localized visuals and campaign assets from simple text prompts.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in beauty marketing, it brings both opportunities and challenges – especially given the industry’s recent shift towards more realistic and beauty standards. On one hand, AI enables inclusive personalization, allowing consumers to find products that match their individual needs (like skin tone, texture, or concerns) rather than conforming to narrow ideals of beauty.
On the other hand, AI can clash with the industry’s push for authenticity. Tools like virtual try-ons and beauty filters can reinforce unrealistic standards of perfection, even as the broader cultural movement calls for more ‘real skin’ and unfiltered content. For example, TikTok’s beauty filters have spark concern on the impact of self-image, especially among younger and more impressionable audiences.
It begs the question, will the use of AI in beauty marketing continue to grow? Almost certainly. But the most successful strategies will be those that use AI to amplify real stories, support inclusive beauty representation, and strike the right balance between innovation in tech and human connection.
Pixie Bitner, Campaign Manager
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