For the past two years, I've been vocal about my fascination with artificial intelligence—a fact my kids and those the I have worked with, know all too well. But my interest isn't just a passing hobby; I am convinced that AI represents the single biggest shift in marketing we'll see in our lifetime. It's not just a tool; it's the future.
And that future is arriving faster than we think.
Below I have included some fictional "Mat Hartley" products but the realism is starting to become unreal.
Mat Hartley Motors
I produced the ultimate 4 x 4 for South African
Mat Hartley Orange Juice
Firstly we produced the branding and then the videos.
Mat Hartley Coffee Beans
Firstly we produced the branding and then the videos.
The game is actively changing. Google itself is now putting a heavy emphasis on filtering content to match what users actually want (you can read the article I'm referencing here). This signals the end of "content for content's sake" and the beginning of a new era where quality, relevance, and human-centric value are king.
In this race, Google's Veo has become the clear forerunner, in my opinion. What sets it apart, especially for the South African market, is its incredible ability to handle local accents and create realistic human visuals. The prompting is far more intuitive than in previous versions, and the ability to extend clips beyond the old 8-second limit is a complete game-changer. We can finally move from simple, silent B-roll to creating genuine, narrative-driven stories. Let's be honest: AI video generation wasn't perfect over the past few months. We've all seen the four fingered hands and crazy faces. But every single upgrade gets exponentially better. The pace of improvement is staggering.
To prove this out, I’ve "developed" a series of fictional "Mat Hartley" products. These aren't real, but they serve as a powerful proof of concept for exactly where advertising is heading. The ability to concept, script, and produce a high-quality, targeted advert in a fraction of the traditional time and cost is no longer a theory. It's here.
