The Human-Made Comeback: 11 Brands Hiring REAL Artists Instead of AI

There is a change happening and we are so here for it. Let’s forget about all that artificial intelligence – fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands are going old school on a quest for artistic authenticity in their campaigns.

High-end houses as well as mainstream brands have – in a fascinating surge – been embracing the art and crafts of human-made art. This is obviously a response to the growing backlash to AI. Consumers are tired- if not all out repulsed – of seeing computer-created art, ads, and AI slop. If it’s clear that a company is utilizing what are obviously AI-generated assets, the outcry is swift and loud. Brands are now going out of their way to avoid these kinds of blunders and are investing in human talent, which is yielding remarkable results.

Animation, puppetry, and stop-motion are a few formats these brands are using to give their seasonal marketing a nostalgic spin. To drive home the proof that actual humans and not HAL 9000 made their promos, a few companies are pulling back the curtain to show – and credit – the artists’ process. Prada did this beautifully with their wonderfully whimsical shorts featuring animation by Disney animator John Pomeroy.

“I know this is a marketing thing, at the end of the day Prada wants to make money, that’s what a business does,” a YouTuber commenter stated. “But cudos to the head of Marketing and the Marketing department at Prada for having brains, and realizing that there’s a desperate need for this style of art to come back and people want it and want to see it. Instead of being cheap and using AI, they hired actual artists for the job.”

This is all wildly refreshing; we as consumers really do suffer from AI fatigue. We crave to see craftsmanship, work by actual artists, the brilliance of human creativity, not generative AI or AI slop.

Here are 11 brands hiring actual artists to create their ad magic!

Dior

Dior enlisted award-winning French director Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist ) to create an whimsical look at the company history revisiting the friendship between Christian Dior and Marlene Dietrich. I should note, there currently is a debate on whether the short is free of AI, but since the jury is still out, we figured we’d still include it on the list

Barbour

The British outwear brand Barbour has again partnered with the team behind Wallace & Gromit and the animation house Aardman for the holidays. For the spot the duo go on a “quintessentially British, traditional Christmas walk” and whimsy, of course, ensures.

Prada
I“Drawing Prada”, the Prada Holiday 2026 campaign, is not only a tribute to the golden age of animated film, but is a tribute to the actual process. Completely hand drawn, the series for Prada has been a resounding hit. It has the right balance of nostalgia but in a fresh and fashionable way. The hand-drawn illustrations were created by artists led by John Pomeroy, a legendary animator.

Bottega Veneta

For Bottega Veneta’s collaboration with Mommin, they enlisted Brooklyn artist Karlotta Freier to create a beautiful ad paying tribute to the beloved Mommin.

Rimowa
The German luxury suitcase company embraced independent artist in past campaign with charming illustrations by the likes of French illustrator Vincent Mahé. For their holiday campaign to promote customizable options of their classic Original suitcases, they enlisted artisans to make worlds made from materials like clay, paper, felt and wood, with the scenes coming to life through stop-motion animation. Full disclosure, I have one of their Originals and I love it, it is so incredibly sturdy and built for a lifetime or two.

Guerlain

The Swiss fashion designer Kevin Germanier teamed up with French stop-motion director Elsa Muse to create “Dressed in Wonder,” a insect /human musical on the banks of Paris’ Pont-Neuf bridge. Germainer’s meticulous bead work shines gloriously in this short, you can see some of the behind the scenes work here.

Strathberry

Strathberry – the Scottish luxury handbag company- produced a three part series – all handmade – by felt artist Alina Golovlova and her team at @So.Daze features a narrative of adorable animals on snowy adventures across the Scottish Highlands.

Levi’s
For the holiday season – Levi’s presents the “Let’s Get Fuzzy ” campaign, a claymation/ stop motion masterpiece featuring a Yeti who crashed a cozy cabin get-together. This one is filled with a nostalgic vibe ala Bumble from the 1964 classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The spots were created by the London animation house Blinkink.

L’artisan Parfumerur

The Gift Factory is an enchanting short illustrated by director and illustrator Ana Toros.

Hermes:

In the above images, the legendary brand hired Seoul-based illustrator Oyow, to create colorful animations and illustrations for several of their promotions. Oyow uses photoshop and various stencil printing techniques to create his work. Oyow is just one of the many artists that Hermes has hired for their promotional campaigns, they routinely hire a wide array of artists for their social media campaigns. For a couple of recent pieces, check out this miniature world by Thibaut Malet here, and animated works by Juan Lage.

e.l.f. Made to Stand Out

e.l.f – the cosmetics line – went with handmade stop motion animation for their first-ever holiday campaign. “Directed by Cami Kwan, co-founder of Apartment D Films, the campaign is a deliberate celebration of analog artistry, where every playful detail is an example of hands-on craftsmanship,” stated Ads of the World. “From individually molded characters to intricately constructed miniature sets, the production embraces the time-intensive process of traditional stop-motion animation, capturing the magic of a world built by hand, one frame at a time.”

Bonus points for enlisting Alan Cumming to narrate the short!