USA Today Press Coverage
Matt Koulermos, Founder of AI-Enhanced Creative Agency AdWaken.ai, Discusses AI’s Pros & Cons in the Advertising Field
Kyle J. Russell x November 1, 2024
The use of generative artificial intelligence in advertising has been a subject of huge controversy. Many creatives are hostile towards the use of AI in art, contending that AI models are trained on images scraped from the internet and are, in effect, stealing their art by profiting without their consent. Other criticisms of AI-generated images include that they are “soulless” and neither artistic nor creative, because it is just a machine that regurgitates images without human intellect behind it. Many also perceive AI as a threat to job security, in line with the trend of massive cost cuts in the industry.
However, the negative sentiment towards AI is not unanimous. There is a significant growing number of creatives who are embracing AI in their work and believe that it is a valuable tool that will help them work more effectively by automating simple, repetitive tasks and streamlining workflow.
One of the pioneers in the adoption of AI in the marketing and advertising industry is AdWaken.ai, an AI-empowered creative agency founded by Matt Koulermos. An advertising veteran of almost 20 years, Matt has worked on a wide variety of campaigns. As AI and its capabilities came to the fore, he realized its immense potential for bringing more value to clients and allowing agencies to enrich their strategic, creative, and production processes. This inspired him to create AdWaken.ai as a way to explore these numerous possibilities and harness them in a commercially viable way.
With generative AI still in its infancy, AdWaken.ai is exploring the technology’s capabilities by incentivizing its team to learn new AI platforms with monthly skills-based bonuses. Matt says that he specifically hires individuals who are interested in learning about AI, ensuring that the entire organization is unified in its goal to push the limits of the technology. This is demonstrated by AdWaken.ai’s recent project: Tequila Heads, a social video ad for The Bad Stuff, a producer of high-quality sipping tequila. The entirety of the video, with the exception of the music track, was made through AI. The end result is comparable to something shot on location in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, but at a significantly lower cost.
AdWaken.ai’s mission is to use AI to amplify its team’s capabilities, creating campaigns and high-conversion websites that grow brands and get audiences to take action. Matt envisions the agency continuing to improve its proficiency with AI over the next few years, allowing it to perform at par with a 100-person agency with a headcount of just 20 and making the most of each client dollar.
According to Matt, regulations on the use of AI in the creative industries are necessary to prevent the rights of artists from being infringed and to ensure that the technology is used ethically. However, he also believes that most of the hostility towards AI is due to the human nature of fearing something they do not understand, especially with how fast the technology is evolving. There’s a constant flow of new AI platforms, tools, and updates that have substantially improved capabilities. It’s humans’ attitudes and tendency to stick with the tried-and-tested methods that are holding the world back from further adoption of AI.
“It’s a very human-centric constraint, and some of the most talented people in the industry see it more as a threat than a tool to help them,” Matt says. “Which is why we have embraced the constant change, learning, and friction created by AI, but ultimately benefiting our clients.”
AI can be used to create hyper-customized content that fits the client’s needs and gives them a better return on their advertising spend. This can be achieved by combining genuine human creativity with AI, meaning that AI is not a substitute for the editor. Instead, it is a tool that, if used correctly, allows more efficient work and provides the ability to rapidly iterate.
“As shown by history, new technology is treated with opposition at the start, but, once people see the benefits, it quickly gets adopted,” Matt says. “And I am optimistic about what people can do with AI. Instead of disregarding it, I hope more people embrace it, unlocking a previously unimaginable world of creativity.”