In the 2000 film High Fidelity, John Cusak’s character Rob Gordon is seen arranging his vast collection of vinyl records, which for our purposes right now will be a very analogue metaphor for a search engine. Gordon is a music enthusiast, and has these records, which number in the several hundred. He is seen standing knee deep amongst them in his living room. Gordon’s friend, impressed with the collection, asks Gordon how he is planning to organise them.
“Chronological?”
“Nope,” responds Gordon.
“Not alphabetical,” notes the friend.
“Nope.”
“What then?”
“Autobiographical.”
Inspired by experience
Last year, I bought myself a vinyl record player for the first time. I still have a hyperdigital music footprint, over several apps, but there was just something irressistable about going in reverse – going analogue. And I realised it all came down to a more personal, tactile experience. I don’t even have all the equipment to make the sound quality that different from digital compression, and really all I get is a run of four or five songs at a time, but it was the physical act itself of handling a record that did it for me. The experience.
And this was my moment of a worthy and cliched LinkedIn post on “What this taught me about marketing and the future.”
Perfection in imperfection
As the mad rush continues to create ever more realistic artifically generated content, we will see creativity lean equally on traditional craft to create that memorable difference. At times, the architecture of the content itself will be the idea. It’s not an accident that people continue to take the example of Open AI using 35mm film to shoot their commercials: there is magic in the imperfection of film stock grain, which became news in itself. Many campaigns will be created using artificial intelligence (AI)-led production – the ones that truly stand out will be the ones that utilise production in a creative manner. Think of that beautiful slight crackle on a vinyl record.
Vocal about local
Cultural authenticity and relevance will become even more critical to creative work, particularly in regions such as ours that take pride in their distinct identity and independence from globalised, one-size-fits-all narratives. As audiences grow more discerning, superficial localisation will no longer suffice; instead, brands will need to invest in genuinely understanding the nuances, values and lived experiences of the communities they seek to engage.
This shift will lead to more meaningful storytelling rooted in real voices, local contexts and shared cultural truths: stories that resonate emotionally and foster a deeper sense of connection and trust. By focusing on locally driven insights and solutions tailored to clearly defined strategic challenges, creativity must move beyond surface-level impact to deliver relevance that feels earned, human and enduring, ultimately driving stronger engagement and long-term brand affinity.
Imagination overload
Adobe frames the positive potential of generative AI as an invitation to embrace what it calls ‘surreal silliness’, a creative mode that goes beyond mere visual strangeness to actively intrigue, entertain, and magnetise attention in an oversaturated media landscape. By encouraging creators to let their imaginations run unrestrained and challenging AI to keep pace, generative tools will unlock a new kind of visual freedom where logic, realism, and polish are no longer limiting factors.
We are now firmly in the visual equivalent of the unhinged one-minute operatic climax of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody: a moment where excess, chaos and imagination collide, and anything goes. In this phase, audiences are not just open to the unexpected; they actively expect it.
The cultural appetite has shifted toward the boldest, weirdest, and most boundary-pushing ideas possible, and generative AI will become the engine that makes these once-impossible visions instantly real.
Sensing more use of senses
Experiences are going to be key drivers of consumer engagement: not indirectly, but tactile. With audiences growing more resistant to traditional, impression-based advertising, immersive and participatory experiences will offer a powerful way to build memory, trust and loyalty.
Advances in technology such as AI, data analytics and hybrid physical-digital formats will enhance these experiences by enabling personalisation at scale, but the core value will always lie in human connection rather than novelty alone.
And that’s where creativity will be paramount. Listening online to the heavy bass on Massive Attack’s Angel is nice, but try feeling it come through your feet, and your life will change.
Person to personalisation
I was asked to sum up the future of marketing in one word during a talk at Athar, and I jumped on: ‘Humanity’. While yes, there is going to be all this tech making everything more efficient and robust and measurable and oh-my-god-this-is-so-cool around us, the one thing that will make all of it ultimately successful will be the humanity that creativity will bring to it. Humanity at every level: research, conception, production and dissemination. Machines might be doing a lot of the work for us, but the direction has to be in our hands.
Circling back, Gordon goes on to explain why he has organised all his records autobiographically: “What I really like about my new system is that it makes me more complicated than I am. To find anything, you have to be me.”
And there it is – the humanity of being you.
By Ali Rez, Regional Chief Creative Officer, Impact BBDO, Group of Companies.
