I like perfection, especially the energy involved in making something good, greater. There is beauty in zooming in to check every detail and assembling team efforts from different specialties. Advertising used to love perfection, promoting idealized models and lifestyles. The norm was to portray flawless scenarios for people to desire. Between us, I wanted to be in a Coca-Cola TV advert; unfortunately, my roller skating skills were beginner-level.

Times changed and social media brought authenticity to the equation. [Let’s skip the cons about socials, as I’m aware the Netflix series ‘Adolescence’ set new records]. Social networks introduced us to the ‘LIVE sharing’ concept where users started posting the good and the struggles, more genuine moments without pre-production or Photoshop, just real stories and honest messages. Being authentic was key to connecting with others.

Then the storytelling evolved -unfortunately backwards- as comparison and the thirst for likes led the ‘genuine’ to start curating their lives, fitting the mold. Our true humans became filtered influencers all for the sake of ‘engagement’. And brands became their biggest fans.

However, the way brands communicate keeps adapting and changing at the speed of a scroll. In the long run, the brands that stick in my mind are the ones that do their own thing, show me imperfections, emotions, make me wonder and imagine and sound like people talking to people.

No formula, trend or tech beats humanizing.

That’s why I like ‘Someday’, Apple’s latest AirPods4 ad by Spike Jones. The brand’s story is not a happily ever after with a good-looking successful couple at the front -although Pedro Pascal could be perfect for that version too. The ad starts with a breakup. Vulnerability is a powerful tool.

Brand Strategist Iñaki Escudero explains the evolution of Apple’s storytelling and gives an insightful analysis of the Airpods4 ad, you should have read the full article as it’s gold, I’m just quoting my favourite part below.

In 2024, emotional duality represents truth.

The world has changed. So has Apple’s audience.
Today, we don’t want fantasy.

We want something that feels like us — tired, hopeful, broken, healing.
And “Someday” meets us there.

Beautiful ah! I intentionally added the Behind the Scenes, not the ad. The process is what shows the sweat, effort, thought and fun bites. I had enough of LinkedIn this week, showing me mediocre ads that AI did in 20 minutes with no production team, no bla bla bla and 400 people commenting the word “prompt” like robots -ironically. Let’s use and point AI in the right direction, teaching it the beauty of imperfection.