We’re just going to say it: AI posters are cringey.
We’ve probably already offended a few people, but that’s okay. Sometimes you need to hear the facts, even when they sting a little. There are plenty of reasons an obviously AI-generated graphic can hurt your marketing, but let’s break down a few of the biggest ones.
Let’s Keep It 100
AI tools don’t truly know your brand.
They don’t understand your business, your customers, your personality, or what makes you different from the competition. You can type in a prompt with your sale dates, times, locations, products, and pricing, but the AI is still making design decisions based on patterns rather than an actual understanding of your brand.
That can lead to graphics that feel generic. The fonts, effects, layouts, dramatic shading, and overall style can start looking suspiciously similar to every other AI-generated ad in your feed.
In today’s teenager vernacular, it’s mid.
It may technically get the information across, but it doesn’t give people much reason to remember your business.
How many AI generated images have you seen similar to this restaurants? If you're in the food industry, you should show the real food product you're trying to sell, not AI images. Customer want to see what you're wanting them to buy
Its TMI
Go back to the basics. Why are you creating the announcement in the first place? Your eyes shouldn’t have to go on a scavenger hunt to figure out what an ad is trying to tell you. Your eyes follow a Z-Pattern. It's important to keep the information you're trying to share in a natural rythem instead of going on a quest.
You want to capture someone’s attention quickly, communicate the most important information, and give them a reason to take the next step. That next step may be visiting your website or calling to get more interest.
Think of it like speed dating. You have a very limited amount of time to make an impression. You don’t need to tell them your entire life story in the first 30 seconds. The same applies to marketing.
Your social media graphic might simply tell someone that your sale is happening, highlight the biggest offer, and direct them to your website for the details. That is part of the marketing funnel. First, you create awareness. Then, you give people somewhere to learn more. When it comes to a graphic or flyer, less really is more.
You’re Blue (Da Ba Dee)
People are doom scrolling through social media at lightning speed.
If you live in a blue house with a blue window, wear blue clothes, and everything around you is blue... everything starts looking the same. Once they start recognizing the same AI aesthetic over and over again, another similar graphic can quickly become visual background noise.
It’s giving... scroll right past it. Your marketing needs to interrupt the pattern, not blend into it.
But hey, look at the bright side. The prompt that was sent into AI to generate the graphic only took three to five minutes from start to finish. Unfortunately, your customer may spend even less time looking at it.
Graphic Artists Are Becoming Few and Far Between
Here’s another side of the conversation that businesses should consider.
You want real people to walk into your business, hire your company, purchase your products, attend your events, and support what you do.
Those customers are human.
So are the photographers, writers, designers, marketers, printers, videographers, and other creative professionals who support businesses in your community. While we were creating this blog, Bill Gates published an essay expressing his concerns about jobs being lost due to AI. It is a real concern to consider.
AI can absolutely be a useful tool, but when businesses begin replacing every creative task with automated content simply because it is faster or cheaper, eventually there are fewer skilled people left doing that work.
And when you actually need someone who understands branding, strategy, typography, layout, customer behavior, or how to make your business stand out, you may discover that those professionals have moved on to something else.
Then we’re all stuck living in that blue world.
Use AI for Ideas, Not Your Identity
AI can be incredibly useful when it is used responsibly. Use it to brainstorm ideas. Bounce concepts around. Ask questions. Explore headlines. Work through different directions.
But the human should still have the final say.
Your marketing should reflect your business, your customers, and your personality. AI should support the creative process, not become the creative process.Iif your competitors have access to the same tools, the same prompts, and the same shortcuts, simply using AI isn’t what makes your business stand out.
What makes your business stand out? Your ideas do. Your strategy does. Your brand does.
If you want a consistent brand identity, reach out to us and we'll be glad to partner with you!