The world has changed. We’ve changed how we consume media. Our old captive audiences have long gone. This, in turn, has changed what we produce and how we produce it.
In this world of fast-scrolling, ad-skipping and small-screen-watching, it’s too easy to learn the wrong
lessons. To believe that the best production strategy is to lean in and focus on short-form, short-lasting, cost-effective content.
But no, no-one ever built a brand with ‘cheaper, faster, shorter’. And yet that is what we all – from clients to agencies to production companies – are faced with today: smaller budgets, faster turnarounds, shorter forms of content.
I believe the winning strategy is found in the opposite direction. The winning strategy is to commit to quality. Because in a world where we consume so much, so fast, the only thing that stands apart is quality. Easy to say, hard to do? Not really. Production-wise it’s easier than ever.
Quality means emotional connection
When we talk about quality, we mean creating a genuine emotional connection with the audience. Great ads do more than just tell you about a product – they make you feel something, whether it’s excitement, joy, or even empathy. That’s what makes them stick in your mind long after you’ve seen them.
For those that commit to this, and we all see the ones that do every day, the results are clear and obvious. This is the work that gets watched, shared. Content people seek out, don’t skip, content that blurs the lines between advertising and entertainment. As the best advertising always has.
Maya Angelou said it best: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
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Quality is craft; Craft is the right team
Emotional connection is created through the craft. It’s skill and attention to detail. It’s how idea, visuals, and sound come together to tell a powerful story. Craft is the hundred little things: finding the right director with the right taste, editing, soundtrack, lighting, casting, art direction, the smallest details in the script.
It’s not hard to put a film crew together. it is hard to put the perfect film crew together. The combination of all of these elements, when they are the right ones, is what
takes an idea from being just ‘good enough’ to something truly memorable.
AI is a quality-enhancer, not cost-saver
If you’re able to bring that together, then today is your lucky day. AI is here to amplify it all. As a tool within the production workflow, it is game changing.
But again, there is the risk that we might learn the wrong lessons here. That we focus on how good it is at making things smaller, faster and cheaper. When we should be focusing on how it allows us to explore new things in bigger ways than ever. So, let’s fight and make the case for quality at every turn. Let’s frame AI as a creativity-exploder, not budget-shrinker.
Quality needs space to breathe
The truth is that quality doesn’t have to cost the earth. It never has. It takes a big creative idea with emotional heft. Then it is down to care and attention to detail, craft and taste. The simple trick here is to match creative to budget. Find ideas that have room to breathe. Too often the idea is too big for the budget and we are tasked with finding shortcuts to make it work. That never goes in favour of quality.
It’s often not a budget problem but an idea problem. No idea can dance if it is squeezed into a too-tight pair of jeans. So, engage with production earlier, if only to create ideas that truly fit.
In summary, we should not just make advertising, but aspire to make quality entertainment that sells. Not things that grab a split-second of attention, but things that capture and hold imaginations. Things people want to watch. Things they will not skip after five seconds. Things they’ll seek out. Things they’ll share. Things that don’t hit them over the head with blunt messages. But short stories that play with complex emotions. Things built with craft and taste and style and quality.
And it’s not that hard. Have an idea. Give it love and care. Use AI to amplify. And let’s see what’s possible.
By Rouba Asmar, Executive Producer, Moreish Productions
