Future of the CCO: how can creative leaders evolve in the age of AI?

In advertising, the pace of constant change can make debates about new technology feel like déjà vu. However, it appears the industry is entering an entirely new era as GenAI has embedded itself within creative and marketing departments.

Over Christmas, the industry and audiences were given one potential glimpse into the future of advertising when Coca-Cola reproduced its long-running iconic 'Holidays Are Coming' campaign using GenAI. While the results were visually arresting enough, the response to the idea of an entirely machine-made ad was mixed. That followed the controversial Toys R Us campaign created through OpenAI's Sora from the previous summer that also provoked fear that 'the machines are coming!'

As a consequence, agency leaders and chief creative officers are quickly adapting.

While AI was initially deemed unattainable and expensive, it is already becoming commonplace within marketing departments and agencies, potentially speeding up the creative process, if not the quality of the output. “It’s not a question of if we should use it. We’re already doing it. We’re very deep into it and it’s an amazing tool for us,” says WPP's global chief creative officer, Rob Reilly.

While the tech is now widespread in creative departments, the creative playbook hasn’t entirely changed. “If the work isn’t good enough, you’re going to get the can,” says BBH’s global CCO Alex Grieve.

For CCOs, the challenge lies in developing the skills and attributes needed to produce exceptional work and avoid that 'can'. So, what can they do to equip themselves for the future?

Be a ‘tastemaker’

Recognising the need for WPP to equip teams to stay ahead of the advancement of AI, in 2023, its chief executive Mark Read announced that the firm would invest £250 million into data technology as part of its AI strategy.

Among the steps that WPP has taken is its partnership with Nvidia on a content engine which lets its clients use the tool to develop work for commercial use.

Similarly, last year Publicis also set out its strategy to create the industry's first AI-powered 'intelligent system', which it entitled Core AI. In summer 2024, Omnicom launched its ArtBot AI tool to improve efficiency.

Their rivals Havas, Dentsu, Omnicom and IPG have also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to introduce AI partnership tools and build inhouse solutions to keep pace with client demand.

However, Reilly doesn’t believe that AI will take over from creative teams: “There’s definitely going to be things that AI will do. That’s going to allow our people to focus more on bigger things – craft and strategic thinking.”  He believes that, at its best, AI will be used to make the working day simpler: “I don’t see it being something you can use once in a while. It’s going to be part of the entire marketing and creative process."

He adds that the adoption of AI has expanded the tools and options creative leaders now have to produce client work.

“Someone has to be the tastemaker, someone has to decide that’s the one we’re going with. Having a high taste level is going to be more important," he continues, comparing the role to that of Pharrell having no mastery over a sewing machine but being the creative director of Louis Vuitton. "He knows what pops and what’s going to pop at any particular moment”.

Likewise, Gravity Road’s CCO Sophie Cullinane emphasises that the tech is already helping the agency produce a greater output. Its owner, Brandtech Group, created the role of GenAI creative director, appointing ex-Burberry creative James Dow in 2024.

Dow works with global clients across the Group, piloting and scaling its GenAI platform Pencil, as well as informing and helping to upskill creators in the business on the latest tools and developments. He also sits on Brandtech’s Gen AI Residency program, partnering with leading GenAI artists and creators to push the creative boundaries of marketing with their uses of the tech.

In 2023 Gravity Road produced the ‘Velvetise Into Happiness’ campaign for Hotel Chocolat. It drew on AI to create a Willy Wonka-esque ad for the famous hot chocolate-making machine. It's an example of how the agency shapes itself by not being afraid to embrace new technology.

Cullinane explains that there has been a “massive upskilling”, and that learning is a “non-negotiable”. But she doesn’t believe AI will replace a real eye for style: “Candidly it’s just getting us to better work faster. We still need experts to shape it and make it sharper.”

Meanwhile, although he describes himself as an “intentionally late adopter of AI” – something which stems from his belief that the best tools become ubiquitous anyway – Grieve too hopes that AI will handle some of the 'grunt work' and free creatives up to do more thinking.

TMW Unlimited CCO Graeme Noble says AI is already used regularly for storyboards and brainstorming visuals, but argues that the real litmus test will be whether the technology spills into popular culture: “If films use AI and not current actors, maybe advertising will get to a place where it does the same”.

The industry's leading CCOs of tomorrow could be today's creators

Another shift likely to shake up advertising is the increasing importance of social media creators. Projected by Deloitte to surpass $250 billion in value, the creator economy consists of influencers, content creators, musicians, celebrities, chefs and various other digital publishers, Many of these have amassed audiences of millions through platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Cullinane argues this has led to a seismic shift, where creators with effective cameras skills can have more reach than traditional advertising.

In what she describes as “the second phase of creator content”, Cullinane believes that creators are needing increasingly less oversight and have the ability to create more original work than ever before.

Likewise, Reilly emphasises that embracing creators is a must, as some creators have “bigger followings than brands and their social media channels.”

McCann’s global head of influence Crystal Malachias believes that more social media creators will be brought into agencies and given increasing responsibilities.  “What you're going to see is, and what we're already doing, is a lot more academies and training courses where we'll get creators to come in and understand what it's like to work in a creative agency or a PR agency and help them get those skill sets," she says. "The biggest CCOs in the world in 20 years will probably have been creators at some point.”

With strengthening regulations around brand communications, especially those promoting any environmental impact claims, CCOs will also need to ensure that their work is conducted ethically and that messaging is distributed accurately. “You have to be aware as a creative person that your job is to convince young people that the brands you represent are doing the right thing and are making a positive impact on the world,” Reilly highlights.

He adds that this shift means CCOs should ensure their creative teams don’t “overindex” on performance marketing. “Brands need to have a place in the world – and meaning and creativity are the best ways for those ideas to stand out.”

It’s clear that adapting to a less hierarchical approach is becoming more critical if brands are to adapt to generational shifts. Despite being an age-old requirement, Reilly posits that understanding client needs is only going to become a more important part of the CCO job. To those looking to move up the ranks, he says: “You’d better be interested in what your clients are thinking about at night. You’d better care about it. And you’d better be curious about how learning and technology can help you do the job you were hired to do which is to help brands succeed.”

TBWA\London CCO Andy Jex adds that, while creatives must prioritise their work above all and can gain a solitary reputation, those who wish to move up the ranks must drop that attitude. “As a creative you have to be selfish, and you move to being selfless when you’re a creative director because you’re not in the ownership of the work. You’re giving away ideas and suggestions for other people.”

Meanwhile Grieve argues that, more than ever, aspiring CCOs need to ensure they are able to develop a varied array of skills and should be comfortable with everything from public speaking to interviewing and media relations, “Back in the day you could be really good at one of those things and not at the others but now you need to be very evenly balanced.”

Containing creative consistency

Ultimately the CCOs of the future will need to have an awareness of where technological advancements come in useful, but will also need to know when to employ soft skills, creativity and business acumen.

“Everybody’s wading through this big soup of platforms, big agencies, complex organisations and it’s very easy to just sleepwalk through these processes and stages. An entrepreneurial spirit is important for accomplishing anything, regardless of your role,” says Grey London president Conrad Persons. He describes the approach as being very top-down, “something approximating school”.

Meanwhile, to Reilly soft skills are crucial: “You’d better be interested in what your clients are thinking about at night. You’d better care about it. And you’d better be curious about how learning and technology can help you do the job you were hired to do which is to help brands succeed."

Jex explains that TBWA\London holds an annual course called Masters Gunners which helps creatives transition into leadership positions. “Most people in CCO roles now will tell you: ‘No one taught me to how to be a creative director’. They’re very different jobs with lots of different skills. Often people only find out whether they’ve got those skills, or they’re good at those skills once they’re in the job. They either thrive or fail.”

Likewise, VCCP Stoke Academy’s head of operations Angie Allgood highlights that its training, carried out in partnership with Adobe and the University of Staffordshire, prepares students for the changing landscape with workshops that cover AI. It also encourages trainees to develop a “curious and adaptable mind”.

According to Allgood, to prepare, agencies must partner with educational institutions to promote work experiences. She adds that it’s also crucial for agencies to note that individuals often work on “different timescales to organisations”, and many will adopt these tools before businesses do.

When planning, Allgood believes agencies should prioritise a “bottom-up, not top-down” approach. She argues that sometimes teams are already adopting new technologies before the CCO so there should be a transparent and collaborative approach to these discussions.

As ever, the only constant for CCOs seems to be the need to adapt and they will need to shift gears to incorporate the new ways of working that evolve from continued social and technological advancements.

At the same time, the spark of creative genius cannot be allowed to disappear. As Cullinane suggests, aspiring leaders should ensure they are “never trying to be anything other than the creatives [they] are”.

And while a lot has shifted technologically, the biggest change for future CCOs to note is to adapt and embrace a less hierarchical future. As Persons surmises: “More and more creative leaders are choosing to get off the pedestal. There’s a certain humility and curiosity to the creative leaders I admire the most. They are just as hungry for answers from others as they are to originate answers themselves.”

Those capable of blending this insight with their zest for innovation and passion for creative excellence are most likely to succeed - alongside their robotic assistants.