The Key Difference Using a Creative Studio vs AI for Marketing Campaigns
June 2025
Here we are, in the blazing future.
Overwhelmed if not paralyzed by choices. Creative work is no exception. Internal team, Freelancer, Studio, Agency, and now AI. All good options depending on your needs, but, we're here to talk about the newest most disruptive and industry shattering choice out there - AI. So much has been said about it already. Some are cheering it on as an astounding achievement. It feels like we are only scratching the surface of it's capabilities, and what it can already do is crazy. Others are, well, pissed! All of this progress is made possible by the wholesale theft of vast amounts of data. As an animation studio with 13 years of creative work under our belt, here is our take on AI and the creative industry.
The genie is out of the bottle!
We are never going back to a world where we aren’t suggested how to write our texts and emails, or ask ourselves “is this real?” after watching a video. AI is here to stay, and its power and applicable uses will only grow from here. Very soon AI generated video will be nothing short of perfectly convincing.
Let’s start with a little contextual clarification. What we are calling AI these days is referred to as generative AI. The generative part comes from the ability of these AI models to generate text, images, or music based on learned patterns from an unimaginably large data set. Yep, our words and images included. Generative AI as it exists today is actually not considered true artificial intelligence. That would be “artificial general Intelligence,” or AGI, (coming to a dystopia near you). The main difference is that AGI will be able to do pretty much anything a person can do (that doesn't require arms) without being programmed to give a specific result. It’s a massive leap forward in computing, which is inching ever closer.
This animation was created by humans for humans. No AI was used. Find full project HERE
So why even consider AI as an option anyway?
Even if at times the quality can be somewhat dubious, the ease and speed of what can be produced from a typed prompt is the biggest draw to AI solutions. For these reasons an absolute glut of AI generated image and video content is being produced from solo creators to big name brands alike. Its seemingly boundless potential has customers asking, can AI do this instead of hiring someone? If the answer isn’t an immediate yes, chances are high that it will be soon. But, just because there is an AI solution, does that mean you should use it? Why would you choose AI solutions against a creative studio?
When you go out to eat you have a choice about where. You could grab a grease-bomb at a fast food chain spot, or that fancy handmade burger with the grass fed beef at a local mom and pop restaurant. These two choices are on opposite ends of the spectrum, and your pick comes down to more than just your taste. How important speed, convenience, price, and experience are to you will dictate your choice. It's the classic you "get what you pay for" concept. The choice about using AI generated art is similar. There will always be a customer who wants faster, cheaper, and easier to produce creative. Those generic uses are literally everywhere, and AI is great at mass produced content farm spam, banner ads, and more!
Art vs Content?
What brands and customers are up against is an AI content tsunami the likes of which the world has never seen. In reality though - we have seen it. Generative AI models are built upon vast amounts of data. Our data. Every word written by untold authors, every image uploaded by every artist, every video clip, every comment… you see where this is going. Posting things on the internet is the backbone of how AI companies make millions with no credit to anyone that has created it, no watermark to proclaim "a person did not make this." This is one of the huge moral problems that exists with AI use. It is made possible by the wholesale theft of data from countless sources. Here’s the other thing. Because of this, AI isn’t really generating anything new. It’s based upon only things that have already been done, that it’s already seen. And the guardrails placed on the most mass consumer uses like Apple and Adobe smash everything down into a hyper-generic look that is, in my opinion, disturbing to look at.
See full case study of the Around The Office Animated Videos.
How about the environment?
Indeed! There’s another BIG existential question to think about. Power. All those memes aren’t magically free. There is a real cost somewhere, and the power requirement for AI generated interactions and content is huge. Shuttered nuclear power plants are being brought back online and massive data centers are being built on cheap land with access to lots of water just to meet the demand. All of this raw computational power is being used to power so much… visual waste? Generating that power, and all of the raw materials that go into its operation and maintenance is in no small terms destabilizing the climate system of the entire planet. It’s disheartening to see so many users don't understand the unintended consequences, when all it takes is just clicking a button on a screen.
A lot to think about right?! Well, we’d like to think that there are still a lot of people out there who would make a different choice and not rely entirely on AI for their productions (and misuse it for just fun). A customer who, despite the cost or time savings, appreciates the magic that can only happen when a group of humans work together to find the solution to a creative problem. We are hard wired to solve problems, to make tools, and use our minds to come up with something brand new. The creative process is designed to distill ideas down into action through collaboration and communication. It creates something real out of nothing. In our world that is filling us up with fancy convincing fakes, things that are real, that are genuine, are becoming increasingly rare.
At the core of Blackbox Visual and what we do is human creativity. It’s something to be embraced and celebrated, even if it is hard work. Some things are hard, and what comes out the other side is something that can be forged no other way. We believe that writing this article on our own, without an AI “helper” making it perfectly bland, means something. Our productions require hiring freelance artists who collaborate with us and help us share the effort. When we walk down the street and grab lunch from a local place vs a big chain, that means something too. Our choice to not rely on AI is a choice we believe moves this world in a better direction. A computer can’t replace creativity, and the hidden costs of that end use are unsustainable.
Our studio’s love for animation, passion for design and deep experience thrives when helping companies realize their creative visions. Our philosophy, and our story is as underdog as it gets. Our job is awesome, and we bring that energy to every project in an authentic way. That’s the special sauce that AI can never replace or reproduce, that real genuine human energy that you get from making things with others.
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In this article we discuss the choice between using AI generated content or hiring a creative studio for animated videos and other creative services. AI solutions are low cost, fast and convenient. However, you get what you pay for, and its generic output relies on stolen data, lacks originality, and has significant environmental costs. As a creative studio we will always advocate for human creativity and collaboration. The unique value and authenticity of work created by artists to solve creative challenges cannot be replaced by AI.