“Creativity can emerge from the most surprising places…even from a dream that wakes us up in the middle of the night with our eyes open to new possibilities.”  —Tara Powers, Elevate Creative Director

Legendary Creative Director Tara Powers talked about the role of AI in the creative process, big ideas, and all things creative in the February issue of @PM360online. In their Agency Management feature, PM360 interviewed Tara about if (and how) creative still matters in 2024 in healthcare advertising. Her answers were insightful—and honest—as usual!

One of the first things Tara responded to is how the latest AI technology is changing the creative process—and, ultimately, how good advertising is made. “AI is absolutely changing the creative landscape. While some people may be concerned about AI ‘taking over’ the industry, others see it as an interesting new tool that can challenge and push our existing skillsets. AI is not the catalyst to end all creativity because it’s not doing the work; it’s not coming up with the big idea, but it can help bring that idea to life…”

When pushed for specifics, Powers had an interesting—and practical—response about AI and the art process: “…before, creative development of art may have been limited to stock, 3d art creators, and Photoshop retouchers, you can now use tools like Midjourney to bring that idea to life for first drafts and team discussions. AI is a fantastic creative conversation starter. From there, you can continue to refine in Midjourney, but you’ll still need your art partners to finalize that winning piece of creative.”

So that’s the art side of the creative equation. What about copy? As an expert in the entire creative process, of course Tara had a perceptive opinion on the writing capabilities of AI platforms: “…ChatGPT can be a good starting point for some draft copy, but similar to art, it really only begins the conversation. In the end, AI is an excellent tool to help you begin drafting and providing placeholder content, but it still takes the human experiences of a creative team to produce a final, polished product.”

Read more of Tara’s thoughts on the current state of creativity and the creative process in the February PM360 issue.

About PM360
PM360 is the premier, must-read magazine for marketing decision makers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. Published monthly, PM360 is the only journal that focuses on delivering the full spectrum of practical information necessary for product managers and pharma marketing professionals to succeed in the complex and highly regulated healthcare environment.