{"id":1642354,"date":"2026-04-17T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1642354"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:56:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:56:47","slug":"anti-ai-aesthetic-getty-images-le-creuset-zevia-authenticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/04\/anti-ai-aesthetic-getty-images-le-creuset-zevia-authenticity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anti-A.I. Aesthetic: Why Brands Are Proving Their Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Digital
From Le Creuset to Zevia, advertisers are treating \u201cmade by humans\u201d as a visible, strategic signal of trust. Andriy Onufriyenko\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tradition of surrealist photography has always aimed to provoke the wonder, curiosity and healthy discomfort of being in a dream. Today, a surreal photo might elicit a knee-jerk accusation: <\/span>\u201cThis is A.I.-generated.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the things A.I. has gotten increasingly good at: making outlandish ideas into images that look like real photographs, in defiance of all reason. But audiences are rejecting these as real images. Research from Getty Images\u2019 VisualGPS platform shows that while <\/span>74 percent of consumers <\/span><\/a>acknowledge that an A.I.-generated image can be as realistic as a photograph, 78 percent say that, because of its origin, a generated image cannot be considered real.<\/span><\/p>\n

Le Creuset anticipated this when it launched a <\/span>new campaign<\/span><\/a> of quirky, surrealist visuals\u2014depicting the brand\u2019s iconic ceramic cookware as realistically boat-sized, bobbing alongside yachts in a harbor\u2014to debut a nautical new color. Which is why they were quick to credit the human artists behind the work, dispelling any suspicions of A.I. in play.<\/span><\/p>\n

Several other brands have taken a similar tack, even going as far as to call out other brands\u2019 enthusiasm for A.I.-generated content\u2014like in Zevia\u2019s <\/span>\u201cReal Soda for Real Humans\u201d campaign<\/span><\/a>, which aligns the product\u2019s real ingredients with real, human-made imagery, positioning both as a contrast to its A.I.-happy, overprocessed competitors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brands may be having fun with A.I.\u2019s role in the cultural moment, but the implications are serious. As A.I. models become more powerful, it\u2019s getting harder to distinguish between A.I.-generated and human-shot visuals. In response, consumers are <\/span>actively judging content <\/span><\/a>based on <\/span>how <\/span><\/i>it was made, forcing brands to see every stage of creation as a potential consumer touchpoint. Demonstrating proof of craft and human creativity has never been more important in building trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A.I. skepticism is influencing the market<\/b><\/h3>\n

Generative A.I. has attracted skeptics since it launched into the public consciousness three years ago, but the past few months have felt like a true swing of the pendulum. Consumers have expressed strong distaste for A.I.-generated ads for myriad reasons, from environmental concerns to perceived \u201claziness\u201d on the part of the advertiser.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The shift hit another inflection point in late March, when in the span of one news cycle, a popular <\/span>A.I. video generator shut down<\/span><\/a>, an author\u2019s novel was <\/span>canceled for A.I.-generated writing<\/span><\/a>, and notable A.I. production deals <\/span>fell through<\/span><\/a>. This moment served as a brutal reality check for those all-in on generative A.I., and a powerful validation of concerns around the promise of frictionless, limitless content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to say that all A.I. skepticism comes from disdain for the technology outright. People\u2019s opinions of A.I. as a whole have <\/span>shifted positively<\/span><\/a>, despite the backlash to its use in brand campaigns and entertainment media. The difference comes from how it\u2019s being used and what consumers expect from the user. While consumers are fine with using A.I. in their personal lives, they hold brands to a much higher standard. A well-known brand should have the resources and capability to invest in human-led creative. Leaning heavily on A.I.-generated content is not seen as innovation or efficiency, but a lack of effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The growing backlash to A.I.-generated content is pushing brands to reconsider how they use A.I. in their advertising workflows. It\u2019s also pushing them to \u201cprove\u201d their content is authentic; as a result, a pursuit of authenticity has become both a comms prerogative and an aesthetic endeavor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What \u201clooks\u201d human? The rise of an anti-A.I. aesthetic\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

As image generation models have advanced and ingested more training data, the telltale A.I. \u201clook\u201d of an output has become more subtle. Even so, certain hallmarks remain: an overpolished quality, a lack of depth, a \u201cwrongness\u201d or \u201cuncanny valley\u201d effect that\u2019s often difficult to describe but impossible not to feel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A.I. image generators trained using content scraped from the web also notoriously reproduce stereotypes. Generative A.I. runs on probability, and without a diverse, intentionally curated dataset influencing the model, the most probable generations align not with the world as it is, but stereotypes perpetuated online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither of these qualities reflects what consumers are looking for in brand visuals. Amid a deluge of synthetic content, audiences cling to what\u2019s real\u2014authenticity has gone from a branding aspiration to a new code of honor. But even authenticity is slippery, changing in response to consumer sentiment and trends in self-expression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To create content that feels truly <\/span>vibrant and real<\/span><\/a>, brands have to counteract consumers\u2019 expectations about A.I.-generated content. A new anti-A.I. aesthetic is rising, with brands aiming to distinguish their content as human-made at first glance. In analyzing visual trends in global advertising, my team at Getty Images has noticed a surge in distinct styles and choices that show a stronger human hand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One is a tactile, handcrafted look and feel, with visible imperfections and rich textures. As Vogue reports, a <\/span>\u201cchildlike\u201d quality<\/span><\/a> is emerging as a symbol of authenticity and intentionality, where in the past, these aesthetics were reserved for the most playful and experimental of brands. In a world where A.I. is accelerating our already unprecedented access to information, naivety and wonder are less qualities of youth than qualities of humanity, a refreshing break from the always-on digital world. The new Zevia ads are a strong example of this trend in motion: the recurring robot character, which can only drink soda with artificial ingredients without malfunctioning, has a distinctly clunky, hand-sculpted look to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With its homage to <\/span>Cindy Crawford\u2019s 1992 Pepsi ad<\/span><\/a>, Zevia engaged in another trend that brands are using to signal authenticity: nostalgia. People miss the things that brought them joy when they were younger, but from an aesthetic perspective, they also miss the pre-A.I. look. However, A.I. generators that scrape the web are adept at recreating vintage aesthetics; this is where texture comes in to counteract synthetic smoothness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also observed that skeptical audiences want to see genuine evidence of effort and intent. To meet this need, brands like Apple are leaning into <\/span>behind-the-scenes content<\/span><\/a> and visuals. More subtly, they\u2019re placing a renewed focus on videography and photography to reinforce the irreplaceable value of human craft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Patr\u00f3n did this recently in a <\/span>new campaign<\/span><\/a> with Guillermo del Toro. Tapping Oscar-winning guest directors isn\u2019t unheard of for major brands, but \u201cThe Perfect Pour\u201d intentionally highlights the importance of craft, blending the director\u2019s and the brand\u2019s creative signatures to equate craftsmanship with quality. Even OpenAI emphasized human craft in a 2025 campaign, using 35mm film for a nostalgic, handcrafted feel\u2014an ironic choice for an LLM ad, yet it authentically reflects our deeply personal relationship with technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brands are also resisting the A.I. look with compositions that evoke randomness and spontaneity in ways that tools trained on existing imagery can\u2019t. They are looking to bottle the lightning of happenstance and everyday surprises in visual form to separate themselves from A.I. sameness. Merrell\u2019s recent <\/span>\u201cIt Starts Outside\u201d campaign<\/span><\/a>, for example, leans into randomness in its visual composition, extending the campaign\u2019s theming around the wonders of unpredictability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By employing these techniques in their storytelling, brands are not only developing eye-catching aesthetics\u2014ones which may eventually come to define this moment in advertising\u2014but building credibility through the celebration of human craft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding a balance<\/b><\/h3>\n

Though many consumers reject the use of A.I.-generated visuals in marketing, organizations have already made substantial investments in A.I. for creative workflows. Eighty-three percent of ad executives say they have <\/span>deployed generative A.I.<\/span><\/a> in the creative process, and <\/span>95 percent of marketers<\/span><\/a> expect the technology to significantly impact their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

A world that prioritizes human creativity does not have to eschew A.I. entirely. The technology can help creatives overcome the \u201cblank page\u201d problem that can keep them from starting or completing important projects. Even generative outputs that don\u2019t quite fit their vision can challenge them to think in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Disclosure and transparency are critical, both for human and A.I. outputs. \u201cHuman-made\u201d is a value signifier. \u201cA.I.-generated\u201d is a guardrail and a show of goodwill. With consumers placing such high value on the process, brands may need to disclose where A.I. is used at any stage of creative development. This has already become a trend among video game developers, who face pressure from A.I.-averse players\u2014one developer went as far as to <\/span>replace A.I.-generated assets<\/span><\/a> that were only in the game as temporary placeholders. Other brands should expect similar scrutiny, especially as advertising trends toward full-fledged media production as branded entertainment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that brands have to embrace an explicit anti-A.I. aesthetic\u2014that much is still fomenting, and plenty of brands will still remain bullish on A.I., targeting the boosters over the detractors. At the end of the day, what matters most to consumers is that brands are honest and true to themselves, whether A.I. plays a role in visualizing their identity or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty Images\u2019 Dr. Rebecca Swift unpacks the growing consumer backlash against A.I.-generated imagery in advertising. While generative A.I. continues to reshape creative workflows, audiences are increasingly scrutinizing how visuals are made, rewarding brands that foreground human craft, texture and intentionality.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":177935337,"featured_media":1642369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"post_tag":[423982741],"company":[423800616,423975712,424004227,424007554,423954278,424001758,423977654],"channel":[186,12374,35162449,423867158,423868668,423868938,423875666],"location":[],"nyo_column":[423982261],"person":[423884333,423884769],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[424011967],"class_list":{"0":"post-1642354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-media-experts","8":"observer_company-apple","9":"observer_company-getty-images","10":"observer_company-le-creuset","11":"observer_company-merrell","12":"observer_company-openai","13":"observer_company-patron","14":"observer_company-pepsico","15":"channel-business","16":"channel-artificial-intelligence","17":"channel-social-media","18":"channel-advertising","19":"channel-digital-media","20":"channel-media","21":"channel-technology","22":"nyo_column-expert-insights","23":"nyo_person-guillermo-del-toro","24":"nyo_person-cindy-crawford","25":"style-expert-insights"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/04\/anti-ai-aesthetic-getty-images-le-creuset-zevia-authenticity\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2208694635.jpg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Dr. Rebecca Swift","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"\"Digital