In 1951, Leo Burnett hosted a "pants day" at his agency, where everyone, including clients, wore casual pants instead of suits. This event aimed to foster creativity and break down formal barriers, becoming a beloved tradition at the agency.

June 28, 2024

• Digital Botox: Of Course Tom Hanks Found the Fountain of Youth

• Creative Control: New Platform Helps Authors and AI Collaborate

• Toys “R” Us Gets Creepy: New AI Ad Falls Flat and Creates Unease

• The AI Wire

• Tools to Explore

Digital Botox: Of Course Tom Hanks Found the Fountain of Youth

If you’ve been holding your breath for a Bosom Buddies reunion. Well, this is as close are you’re gonna get.

20-something-year-old Tom Hanks is back and starring in a new feature film in 2024!?

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are set to star in Robert Zemeckis' upcoming film "Here," which features AI technology to de-age the actors. Think Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” with five additional years of improvements to de-aging technology.

The movie, based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire, uses advanced AI to transform Hanks and Wright back to their younger selves, showcasing the blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional storytelling. This innovation highlights the potential for AI to revolutionize film production while maintaining the integrity of the actors' performances.

This project sits perfectly in the Thrive quadrant of The Survive and Thrive Framework. This means high human touch and high AI integration,

Perspectives

• Tom Hanks: "The technology allows us to tell this story in a way that was previously impossible."

• Robert Zemeckis: "AI brings a new dimension to filmmaking, allowing us to explore new creative possibilities."

• Robin Wright: "It's fascinating to see how AI can transform our performances while keeping the essence of our characters intact."

Watch the trailer for “Here”

Creative Control: New Platform Helps Authors and AI Collaborate

There is a new AI platform that claims to check all of these boxes…

• Empowerment of Creators

• Ethical AI Training

• Transparency and Fairness

• Innovation in AI Integration

• Support from Industry Leaders

Sounds good so far but how the heck can they pull that off?

Created by Humans, backed by notable figures such as David Sacks, Garry Tan, and Walter Isaacson, aims to help authors license their creative work to AI models. This unique approach allows authors to maintain control over their intellectual property while enabling AI systems to learn from their content responsibly.

The platform emphasizes ethical AI training and seeks to bridge the gap between human creativity and artificial intelligence.

Perspectives

• David Sacks: "Created by Humans ensures that authors can benefit from the AI revolution without losing control over their work."

• Garry Tan: "This platform offers a fair and transparent way for creatives to license their work to AI models."

• Walter Isaacson: "We're excited to support a project that respects the rights of creators and harnesses the power of AI for good."

Toys “R” Us Gets Creepy: New AI Ad Falls Flat and Creates Unease

From start to finish, this ad is a slow and emotionless audio-visual death. It's nothing more than a gimmick and showcases everything that can go wrong with generative AI.

Toys "R" Us had the opportunity to use AI to enhance human connection and make a significant impact while relaunching its legendary brand. Instead, this spot is entirely AI-driven, devoid of any human touch. This isn't an ad campaign; it’s closer to a 2003 PowerPoint template.

As you watch this ad, you can feel the technology behind each shot expire as each shot passes. It’s AI for AI's sake.

On the Survive and Thrive Framework, this project sits precariously between Survive (AI-centric) and Die. There is no human substance beneath the technology. In fact, it’s dangerously close to sliding fully into the Die quadrant.

Watch the full spot here

The AI Wire

• AI Making Waves in Film: Runway’s new AI tools can create super high-quality short video clips, and their annual AI film festival offers a $60,000 prize for the best AI-made films. Studios like Paramount and Disney are using AI for dubbing and special effects, changing how movies are made. Read more at MIT Technology Review and Runway.

• AI Fashion Design Takes Off: Platforms like Off/Script are shaking up fashion by letting users upload design ideas, which are then voted on by the community. Winning designs get produced, with AI managing everything from manufacturing to shipping. It’s making fashion design accessible to everyone. Read more at Unite.AI.

• Agencies Use AI for Quick Campaigns: Creative agencies are turning to AI for fast and reactive campaign creation. These tools help produce personalized content quickly, perfect for events like sports tournaments where details can change rapidly. Read more at Creative Boom.

Tools to Explore

• ElevenLab Reader App: Convert text into natural, expressive speech. Ideal for articles, ePubs, PDFs, or any text.

• Freepik: Create great designs, faster. High-quality photos, videos, vectors, PSD, AI images, icons