OpenAI’s Sora: Boon or bane for the advertising world?

OpenAI’s new video generation tool Sora that was launched a few weeks ago has generated a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity, especially among the advertising and creative industries. From what OpenAI has demonstrated so far, Sora can generate short clips to full-minute videos in high definition.

A few clips that have allegedly been created using Sora showcase how hyper-realistic and accurate it can be. 

This prompts a critical examination of the tool's impact on the ad world. While some stakeholders assert its revolutionary potential, contrasting opinions claim AI still has a long way to go to get a truly 'human' touch in its projects.

Immediate impact

Since Sora can create videos up to a minute, the tool will be extensively used for creating short-form content, particularly social media, and can also play a role in bringing down the advertising budgets overall, as well as the time taken to create campaigns, experts say.

Aakash Shah, founder of One Hand Clap, says, “We are going to see a whole new generation of remarkable people making the ad films they have always wanted to make but didn’t have the budgets to. It’s a game-changer. We democratised content distribution because of reels and TikToks. Sora will further democratise the art, direction, and budget constraints.”

Similarly, Avanthika Ravichandran, associate creative director, Admatazz, feels that Sora brings with it, a whole new chapter in brand storytelling. She says while faster production and deployment of video content is a given, what’s most exciting is the possibility of this enhancing the quality of a brand’s interactions with its audience by increasing the relevance of the visual narratives it builds.

Ravichandran further adds the tool’s efficiency and speed will still leave creative teams with enough time to test the effectiveness of the campaign by prototyping ideas quickly.

Aakash Chatterjee, co-founder and chief creative officer, 5W1H, adds that Sora enables advertisers to produce highly personalised content based on specific audience interests and demographics. This will allow for more relevant and compelling messages, resulting in improved conversion rates and brand loyalty.

Ethical challenges

While there are exciting opportunities ahead, users will need to carefully consider factors that could pose challenges like copyright issues, ethical concerns, data and privacy, and the consequences that follow.

According to Chatterjee, implementing any new tool like Sora, ChatGPT, etc. in advertising initially brings several technical obstacles and constraints that marketers must carefully evaluate. He emphasises the importance of maintaining privacy and security while leveraging Sora’s personalisation capabilities.

“True customisation and personalisation at scale pose a considerable technical hurdle. While Sora can create personalised video content using text prompts, properly personalising messaging to specific target segments necessitates extensive data analysis and segmentation methodologies. To deliver relevant and interesting content to their target audiences, advertisers must invest in thorough audience insights and segmentation approaches. This may include connecting Sora with existing data management and analytics platforms for greater personalization capabilities,” suggests Chatterjee.

It must be noted that OpenAI has found itself in between several copyright infringement lawsuits. Meanwhile, deep fake videos of prominent personalities and misinformation have also raised several questions about emerging technologies.

Creativity and limitations

While the creative talent is excited about what Sora can offer, there are a few challenges it may possess. For example, Ravichandran awaits to witness Sora’s ability to change one considerably minute aspect of prompts.

“With any campaign, all assets, especially ones with a visual connotation to them, end up going through multiple iterations and typically need to be okayed by several stakeholders. What remains to be seen is Sora’s ability to change one considerably minute aspect of a prompt, say the colour of the main character’s shoelaces, and recreate everything else just like it did in the earlier version.”

“What could work in our favour is the undying appeal that raw, authentic content enjoys. People will never want to stop seeing real stories or stop appreciating the unpredictability of the journeys that made them happen. Brands are likely going to continue investing in proprietary tech and craftsmanship, to show their audience what sets them apart. Sora’s translation of these, however cinematic and flawlessly executed, may still risk coming across as synthetic,” she adds.

Devaiah Bopanna, co-founder of Moonshot, also feels that AI has a long way to go before it is used in everyday working environments of the advertising landscape. He says Sora opens up a plethora of creative possibilities. However, it's essential to acknowledge that any AI tool is still far from seamlessly integrating into everyday filmmaking workflows.

“For example, I’m waiting to see if technology can make content from different angles as we usually do. If it can do that, that would truly be disruptive. One potential application for Sora lies in replacing the use of stock footage. Previously, sifting through vast libraries of stock footage was a time-consuming task. Sora has the potential to revolutionise this process by allowing users to customise stock footage based on their specific requirements,” he adds.

Raghav Bagai, co-founder of Sociowash, opines that Sociowash envisions leveraging Sora alongside traditional advertising methods to enhance campaign effectiveness by combining its innovative capabilities with established storytelling techniques.

“Sora is particularly well-suited for advertising content that requires impactful visuals and storytelling such as product launches, brand storytelling, and nostalgia-driven campaigns. However, there may be scenarios where Sora may not be the most optimal choice, such as campaigns where authenticity and real-life interactions are paramount, or one where the use of Sora could raise ethical concerns,” says Bagai.