2 days ago
Do you need Albert Einstein on your creative team?
Artificial intelligence has become a powerful force in the advertising world. It can analyse massive datasets, predict consumer behaviour, optimise ad placements and even generate copy or visuals.
In short, AI has a high IQ — some estimates place ChatGPT's verbal IQ as high as 155, putting it in the top 0.1 per cent of human test-takers. But in an industry where emotion drives action, one question looms large: Can AI truly understand and create with emotional intelligence?
Creative core of advertising
At its heart, advertising is not just about selling — it's about connecting. The most memorable campaigns don't just inform; they move people.
Think of Publicis Groupe's Working with Cancer (2023), a global initiative that encouraged companies to support employees battling cancer. Or Cars to Work which helped job seekers in France by offering free cars until they secured employment. And then there's WoMen's Football, which cleverly challenged gender bias in sports by disguising female athletes as male football stars — only to reveal the truth and flip perceptions.
These campaigns didn't win awards because of clever algorithms or media spend — they won because they tapped into human emotion, cultural relevance, and authentic storytelling.
This is where EQ comes in.
Why EQ matters in creative work
In emotionally intelligent advertising, empathy plays a foundational role — it's about truly understanding the audience's feelings, struggles, and aspirations, not just targeting demographics. This deep emotional insight allows brands to craft messages that resonate on a personal level.
Equally important is cultural sensitivity, which ensures that campaigns navigate diverse values, humour, and taboos with respect and relevance, avoiding missteps that can alienate or offend. Emotional timing is another subtle yet powerful element; knowing when to inspire, when to comfort, and when to provoke can make the difference between a forgettable ad and one that sparks a movement.
And above all, authenticity is what binds it all together — creating messages that feel genuine, not robotic, and that reflect the brand's true voice and values.
Visa's recent 'Walla Visa' campaign in Egypt is a perfect example. Built around the everyday phrase 'cash walla Visa?'—a colloquial way merchants ask customers if they're paying by card — the campaign turned a cultural habit into a platform for empowerment.
It resonated because it was rooted in local language, everyday behaviour, and a genuine understanding of how people live and transact. It's a campaign powered not by data alone, but by listening, empathy, and cultural fluency — hallmarks of emotional intelligence in action.
AI's role: Assistant, not auteur
AI is a powerful tool for generating ideas, refining content, and optimising performance — it can test headlines, suggest visuals, personalise messaging, and even predict emotional responses.
But what it gains in efficiency, it lacks in lived experience. The heart of a great ad often lies in vulnerability, humour, or insight — qualities only humans truly bring to the table.
Risk of emotionless creativity
When brands rely too heavily on AI without human oversight, the results can feel generic or tone-deaf. We've already seen examples of AI-generated ads that miss cultural context or unintentionally offend. In a world saturated with content, blandness is the enemy.
Even our interactions with AI reveal how deeply emotional intelligence is wired into human behavior. OpenAI's CEO recently shared that users saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT has cost the company tens of millions of dollars in extra processing.
It's a quirky but telling reminder: people instinctively bring empathy and etiquette into every exchange—even with machines. That's not just politeness; it's emotional intelligence in action.
EQ is the soul of creativity
AI may have a high IQ, but in advertising, EQ is the soul. It's what turns a message into a movement, a product into a purpose, and a brand into a beloved part of someone's life.
Letting AI take the lead on creativity is a bit like hiring Albert Einstein to run your creative department — undeniably brilliant, but not exactly known for his emotional finesse, collaborative spirit, or brand storytelling chops.
Genius? Absolutely. But also famously absent-minded, socially awkward, and not particularly tuned in to the subtleties of human emotion.
Creativity, especially in advertising, isn't just about being smart—it's about being felt. And for that, you need more than IQ. You need heart.
By Nicolas Geahchan, Senior Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi MEA
