Last week, I saw this ad and thought, "This feels like OG Nike marketing!"

Then I found out it was AI-generated...

So I did what I always do. I went deeper. I spent time reading what copywriters and designers had to say about it. My opinion went from "this is super original" to "this is creative but really bad execution."

And here's why.

It's creative, but not grounded in any sense of reality.

Wemby is 7'4. He is nicknamed "The Alien." His personality? On the court, he has unmatched competitiveness. A no "excuses mentality" with deep dedication and craft. Off the court, he is known to spend his spare time reading, doing hobbies that expand his mind, and even studying with Shaolin Monks during the offseason. His persona on and off the court is one of quiet confidence.

The ad above portrayed the opposite. Wemby is seen as "above everyone." The imagery evokes intentional dominance. The play on words of "Pray" and "Prey." Everything was creatively executed to tell a fabricated story of what Wemby represents.

The ad lives in creative oblivion.

What I found most fascinating is that the majority of people on social media called it "perfect." Whereas those with a trained creative eye saw the opposite.

This gap told me about the times we are living through.

Creative output is at an all-time high. Every industry, every domain, everyone is "building things." But when the process becomes so focused on output, we risk losing the entire point of what we're creating in the first place.

Context is everything. The story behind the work. Who someone actually is. What something actually means.

We cannot mistake output for value.