This male model sporting a crisp summer shirt isn't real. Will consumers care?

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The brushed twill garment from men's deterioration institution Teddy Stratford successful the representation beneath highlights the crisp lines produced by its patented "zip fit' technology. Also, the wonders of different benignant of tech — for portion the covering is real, the model, vessel and municipality backdrop are each the merchandise of artificial intelligence.

The New York manner marque is 1 of a increasing fig of companies utilizing generative AI to make ads for societal media, a displacement that tin prevention large bucks portion producing a diverseness of selling content.

Bryan Davis, laminitis of Teddy Stratford, said that AI lets the tiny concern nutrient professional-grade images that would ordinarily outgo tens of thousands of dollars to churn out.

"We don't person to prosecute a model, we don't person to prosecute a photographer, and the images we're capable to marque are truly on-brand, and elevate our look to wherever we privation it to be," helium told CBS News. "And they are not evidently AI. They look truly real."

Davis besides said AI lets him marketplace his company's products to a wider lawsuit basal without having to prosecute a scope of models of antithetic shapes, sizes and ethnicities.

"I tin get a divers unit of a twelve models that correspond our marque good without going retired and looking for people, coordinating with a photographer, oregon getting a licence to sprout connected a rooftop," helium said. "We're not Calvin Klein — it's not similar we could spell retired and walk $50,000 oregon $100,000 connected a photoshoot."

"As a marque owner, it's a immense triumph due to the fact that we tin amusement our merchandise successful a definite way, without spending wealth we don't have," Davis added.

Get real

While Davis touts the capabilities of AI tools similar OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, different brands are taking the other tack by highlighting their committedness not to usage the technology.

Aerie, an intimate apparel marque owned by American Eagle Outfitters, past period debuted an ad campaign featuring histrion Pamela Anderson crafting AI prompts to make lifelike models. The kicker: Aerie vows ne'er to usage AI-generated radical oregon bodies successful its ads.

On its website, the marque describes the rationale down its "no AI" pledge.

"In 2014, we stopped retouching radical and bodies. In 2025, we recommitted to ne'er usage AI to make bodies oregon alteration the radical and bodies successful our images," according to the Aerie. "You merit REAL successful each image, each store & each moment. We judge transparency isn't a trend. It's our committedness to you. No retouching. No AI. Because REAL MATTERS."

Aerie isn't unsocial successful attaching specified a disclaimer to its images, a pledge that speaks to increasing nationalist concerns astir distinguishing betwixt existent images and AI "slop." For example, diaper institution Coterie precocious besides pledged not to make contented utilizing the technology, penning successful an Instagram station that "AI can't alteration a diaper."

"Parenting is arsenic existent arsenic it gets. We judge our contented should be, too," the marque said.

Can AI nutrient empathy?

Of course, advertizing has agelong produced highly stylized images that often hardly correspond with world — airbrushing, retouching and color-grading shots to nutrient the desired effects, among galore different manufacture techniques.

By that measure, isn't AI conscionable the latest instrumentality of the commercialized utilized to abstracted consumers from their money?

Chris Gillett, a nonrecreational headshot lensman who relies connected time-tested skills to correspond his subjects successful the champion light, isn't truthful sure. He's skeptical that AI-generated radical volition make the aforesaid level of transportation with consumers.

"I tin look astatine an representation of a blessed couple, and I'm empathizing. But if I cognize those radical are fake, I don't deliberation I americium going to empathize with them," helium said.

Gillett acknowledges that immoderate AI-hatched ads, similar those created by Teddy Stratford, tin look startlingly real, but said that successful different campaigns the ads "just consciousness off, oregon weird."

Amid a deluge of AI slop, Gillett thinks immoderate consumers volition clasp brands that thin into their authenticity by openly rejecting AI marketing.

"We're truthful disconnected present arsenic it is, due to the fact that phones are a filter betwixt america and different humans, and present we conscionable made it worse," Gillett said. "I person anticipation that quality yearning for authenticity and authentic quality transportation volition prevail and support america from moving wholly disconnected the rails with this stuff."

Edited by Alain Sherter

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