AI in advertising: 5 campaigns that got it right

AI in advertising still splits opinions. 73% of UK adults are concerned about the prevalence of AI-generated content. Others see it as a creative superpower.

Our take? When it’s used thoughtfully, it doesn’t replace creativity – it expands it.

The best AI video ads don’t hide their AI use; they celebrate it. They use it to push ideas further, stress-test decades of brand-building, co-create with audiences, and tell stories that couldn’t exist any other way.

From a production standpoint, the strongest AI ads use AI to fine‑tune light, movement, and timing so every frame carries emotion, rhythm, and intent. They remind us that good filmmaking has never been about the tools, but about how you make people feel.

Here are five AI ads that have used AI in one way or another successfully.

How brands have used AI in advertising campaigns

1. Heinz – AI Ketchup

Heinz handed its brand over to DALL·E and said: “Ketchup.”

No matter how weird the prompt and without ever mentioning ‘Heinz’, the AI kept spitting out that iconic red bottle. Every. Single. Time.

It’s a masterclass in brand recognition – even a machine can’t mistake those cues. But what really makes this ad shine is how the video itself is built. The editing mimics the speed of AI generation itself – quick cuts between prompts and outputs that build momentum and reinforce the central insight: no matter what you ask for, you get Heinz.

This pacing choice turns what could have been a slow promo video into a punchy brand statement.

Heinz didn’t just test DALL·E. They stress‑tested their own brand – and it passed with flying colours.

What brands can learn:

You don’t need heavy VFX or a big narrative to make AI work on screen. A clear concept, confident pacing and restraint in post can be more powerful than overproduction.

2. Coca‑Cola – Create Real Magic

Coca‑Cola’s film is built on contrast: AI‑generated surrealism on one side, classic Coke craft on the other.

Visually, it stays rooted in the brand you already know – warm reds, deep shadows, that soft, cinematic glow – but drops AI imagery straight into that world.

From an editing perspective, the transitions are what set it apart. You’ve got shots that take you from on‑screen brush strokes to paint in the real world, from pixels to city walls. Those transitions do the heavy lifting: they don’t just show that AI can make pictures – they show how those pictures become tangible.

What brands can learn:

Use your existing brand look – colour, light, framing – as an anchor so AI elements feel like part of your world, not a bolt‑on.

3.  Toys “R” Us – The Origin Story (2024)

The comeback story no one expected: Toys “R” Us used OpenAI’s text‑to‑video model Sora to create a short film about how the brand came to life. The spot blends Sora‑generated moving images with minimal live‑action compositing, telling the story of a young Charles Lazarus dreaming up the first toy store.

From a production standpoint, it’s pure experimentation captured on screen. The AI‑generated shots carry that slightly surreal, painterly motion Sora is known for – scenes that shift and breathe as though imagined by memory. The editing and grade tie the dream together, creating emotional continuity between moments that never physically existed.

And crucially, the team didn’t bury the tech. They led with it – a statement that this is where brand filmmaking is heading.

What brands can learn:

When you use generative video boldly and transparently, audiences remember the story, the feeling, not the method. The right story can turn new technology into pure cinematic wonder.

4. KitKat – Have AI Break

What happens when you tell an AI to “take a break”?

The ad leans into lo‑fi chaos on purpose:  jumpy cuts, odd framing, surreal AI imagery flickering between snacks, slogans, and random nonsense.

The rhythm is key. The edit is choppy and glitch‑like, and the sound design layers in digital blips and mechanical beeps before everything snaps – literally – into the comforting crunch of a real KitKat– a brilliant sensory punchline.

What brands can learn:

Raw, rough, and unpolished can be the style – plan the framing, pace the cuts, and mix the sound so it feels artful, not accidental. Audiences can sense when scrappy is staged well.

5. Mint Mobile – ChatGPT Ad

Ryan Reynolds asked ChatGPT to write his next Mint Mobile ad – and then filmed it exactly as written. The result is part brand ad, part behind‑the‑scenes comedy.

The beauty lies in restraint: a simple studio setup, natural lighting, and a tight single camera. It feels unedited – almost like a one‑take readthrough – but the pacing and timing of each line are razor accurate.

The music and sound editing stay minimal, so all focus sits on the awkwardly perfect script and Reynolds’ deadpan delivery. It feels off‑the‑cuff.

What brands can learn:

When the idea’s funny enough, keep your edit invisible. A solid concept doesn’t need layers of production – just timing, tone, and confidence to let the moment breathe.

Have fun. Lean into the weirdness of AI language and let the slightly off tone be part of the humour rather than smoothing it out.

What these campaigns reveal about AI in video advertising

The best AI videos build on what you’ve already got

Using AI only worked for Heinz and Coca-Cola because their cinematography, branding, and narrative were solid foundations to build on.

Before you experiment with AI videos, ask whether your brand’s look, tone and message are clear enough to survive being remixed, stress‑tested or co‑created. If your identity is vague or inconsistent, AI will expose that

Strong brands use AI as amplification. Weak brands use it as a shortcut.

Great AI videos don’t hide the tech

None of these ads tried to hide the fact that AI was involved. In fact, they did the opposite.

KitKat leaned into AI’s glitches; Mint Mobile let ChatGPT’s odd phrasing become the punchline. Transparency isn’t just ethical – it’s strategic. When audiences can see the seams, they’re more likely to find the work clever, self‑aware, and human. When you try to pass AI off as something it’s not, the result often feels cold or deceptive.

Treat AI as a visible creative collaborator, not a hidden post‑production trick. Show the process. Name the tool. Let people in on how it was made. That openness is what turns a tech experiment into a story people want to share.

A strong creative brief still drives the shoot

None of these films worked because of the software alone. They succeeded because someone wrote a tight brief, made clear creative decisions, and knew what the film needed to say.

Toys “R” Us didn’t just want AI-generated footage – they wanted a brand origin story that felt cinematic and emotional. Coca‑Cola didn’t just generate AI art – they storyboarded how digital outputs would transition into real‑world media.

AI doesn’t replace direction, pacing, sound design, or editorial judgement. It gives you new textures to work with, but the foundational filmmaking decisions – what to show, how to frame it, when to cut, what the audience should feel – still come from humans.

AI isn’t replacing the filmmaker – it’s expanding the toolkit

Across all five campaigns, AI was used as one instrument in a larger production, not as the whole orchestra. For example, Heinz used DALL·E to generate images, but humans edited them into a rhythmic, punchy film.

AI is another creative tool, like a camera rig, a colour grade, or a motion graphics package. It can help you visualise ideas you couldn’t easily shoot, speed up certain workflows, or add visual textures that would be expensive or time‑consuming to create manually.

The real question for video teams isn’t “Should we use AI?” – it’s “What can AI help us do that we couldn’t do before?”

Let’s make one together

AI doesn’t make a good video – sharp creative direction, tight editing and emotional storytelling do.

At Definition, we use AI the same way we use lighting, sound design or motion graphics: as a tool that serves the idea, not replaces it. We help brands figure out when AI adds something you couldn’t achieve otherwise – and when it’s just noise.

Get in touch with our video team to explore how AI can push your next campaign further.

Written by Arshad Peters, Senior Animator at Definition.

AI videos FAQs

What are AI videos?

AI videos are films created or enhanced using artificial intelligence tools at some stage of production.

This includes:

• Generative video AI (e.g. OpenAI Sora, Google Veo) that creates video footage from text prompts
• Deepfake and digital human tools (e.g. Metaphysic, Synthesia) that generate synthetic versions of real people
• AI editing and effects tools (e.g. Runway, Adobe Firefly) that automate tasks like colour grading, object removal, or transitions
• Script and voice AI (e.g. ChatGPT, ElevenLabs) that generate dialogue or synthetic voiceovers

AI can be used to create entire videos from scratch, generate specific elements within a film, or speed up post-production workflows.

How do brands use AI in video content?

Brands use AI in video production in several ways:

• Creative experimentation
• Creating surreal imagery, transitions or effects that would be impractical or expensive to film traditionally
• Using deepfakes or AI avatars to create digital version of brand characters
• Script generation
• Automating time-consuming editing tasks

The most successful brand videos use AI as one tool within a larger creative strategy, not as a replacement for human direction and storytelling.

What’s the difference between AI-generated videos and AI-enhanced videos?

AI-generated videos are created primarily or entirely by AI – the tool generates the footage from text prompts or training data. AI-enhanced videos use traditional filming or animation as the base, then apply AI tools to improve, alter or speed up specific aspects.

Can I make a professional AI video without video production experience?

You can create simple AI video content using consumer tools like Runway, Synthesia, or ChatGPT, but professional-quality brand videos require more than just access to AI tools.

For campaigns that represent your brand publicly, working with experienced video teams who understand both AI and production craft will deliver significantly better results.