Heroing the Human-Made
Published 26 February 2026
Growing fears over AI displacing human agency and creativity and diminishing the quality of content (see Key Stats, including those on AI Slop) are spurring renewed appetite for human-made artistry. Globally, the number one thing consumers want brands to prioritise in 2026 comms is human-made content (Sprout Social, 2026). We spotlight three strategic directions: ads celebrating slow artistry, revealing creative processes behind brand storytelling, and campaigns reviving traditional or unusual craft.
Showing Process: Making as Messaging
Slow Craft-Centred Comms
Campaigns & Comms Resurrecting Idiosyncratic Traditional Artforms
Globally, 55% of social media users say they’re more likely to trust brands publishing human-generated content (Sprout Social, 2025), placing an imperative on brands to show that their creative goes beyond AI prompts. Catering to this cohort, brands including the BBC, Apple and US skincare brand Starface are sharing behind-the-scenes content spotlighting the collaboration, ingenuity and skill underpinning their storytelling.
Globally, 55% of social media users say they’re more likely to trust brands publishing human-generated content (Sprout Social, 2025), placing an imperative on brands to show that their creative goes beyond AI prompts. Catering to this cohort, brands including the BBC, Apple and US skincare brand Starface are sharing behind-the-scenes content spotlighting the collaboration, ingenuity and skill underpinning their storytelling.
As highlighted in Internet Trends 101: Friction-maxxing, audiences are increasingly reintroducing resistance and human effort to counter the anaesthetising effects of the hyper-convenience of tech-streamlined contemporary lives – 46% of Americans sometimes intentionally choose inefficiency to slow things down (Horizon Futures, 2025). This shift presents an opportunity for brands to spotlight time-intensive creative endeavours, as exemplified by Corona’s pinhole photography campaign.
Globally, 76% of consumers believe that creativity, craft and imperfection will always matter more than machine-made art (Human8, 2026), underscoring the necessity for brands to spotlight the idiosyncrasies of human artistry in their comms. We spotlight two approaches: mass-market fast-food giant McDonald’s McFlurry recreations via mixed-media art and stained-glass mosaics, and French luxury fashion house Hermès’s handcrafted, lithography-esque e-commerce design.
Heroing the Human-Made
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Heroing the Human-Made
Growing fears over AI displacing human agency and creativity and diminishing the quality of content (see Key Stats, including those on AI Slop) are spurring renewed appetite for human-made artistry. Globally, the number one thing consumers want brands to prioritise in 2026 comms is human-made content (