AI is displacing thousands of Nigerian creatives. Brands are saving millions.
A commercial director in Lagos received a brief from a Nigerian bank in late 2024 for what would normally be a major production. The bank had hired full crews of 23 people for years on similar work. When he asked about the budget, the marketing head apologized and showed him the finished video. Two in-house staff members, using AI tools, had completed it in hours.
What once required 40 people across production, direction, cinematography, sound, lighting, and editing now happens on a laptop. The displacement is accelerating across Nigeria's N200 billion advertising industry, with major banks, consumer goods companies, and digital brands increasingly using generative video tools like Runway, HeyGen, and ElevenLabs for campaigns.
For casting agencies, the shift is visible in monthly request volumes. A Lagos-based casting director who supplied extras for hundreds of commercials said requests have dropped from dozens per month to single-digit requests. Brands she previously worked with are now using AI-generated characters instead of hiring background actors who earned up to N30,000 per shoot.
Post-production studios report similar declines. One Lagos studio owner said his monthly job volume fell from six or seven projects to two, forcing him to restructure and lay off long-term staff in 2025.
The cost math is stark
Production costs have collapsed for brands. Between 2018 and 2022, a mid-range 30-second commercial cost N500,000 to N5 million. After Nigeria's 2023 naira devaluation, those same productions surged to N30 million to N50 million, excluding contract renewals.
AI-assisted production now costs N300,000 to N2.5 million for similar work. Marketing executives told BusinessDay that AI has cut production costs by 40 to 70 percent for certain formats.
The savings extend beyond the initial shoot. Traditional commercials with human actors require contract renewals and repeated payments each time a brand wants to reuse footage. With AI-generated characters, brands avoid those recurring costs entirely-potentially saving tens of millions annually.
For companies facing inflation, weakening currency, and shrinking consumer spending, the financial pressure to switch is difficult to ignore.
What gets lost
Whether cost savings translate to better results remains unclear. Brands are not publicly sharing comparative performance data on AI versus traditional campaigns.
Industry professionals say AI-generated ads often lack emotional resonance. Memorable Nigerian commercials-Peak Milk's "Papilo, I know say one day you go make us proud" or Indomie's "Mama do good"-became cultural references because they connected emotionally. AI-generated characters, by contrast, tend toward sameness: similar layouts, generic compositions, and limited emotional range.
A data analyst who studies advertising said AI struggles with emotional nuance. "Actors convey multiple emotions in seconds with expression and body language. AI-generated advertorials show the same poker-face expression and maybe some smiles. AI cannot connect with humans the way a human would," he said.
A marketing strategist countered that emotional connection is possible with AI if the storytelling is authentic. "Audiences respond to emotions, storytelling, humour, nostalgia, aspiration, and relatability. People connect more with stories and emotions than whether the characters are real humans. We already see this with cartoons and animation."
A digital marketing professional noted that small businesses cannot rely on AI-created content alone to drive purchases. "Customers need to put a face to the business to reach conviction to make a purchase," she said.
What happens next
The disruption is accelerating. No public data exists on what percentage of Nigerian advertising is now AI-generated, but the trend is visible across major brands and digital platforms.
Some industry professionals believe human-led production will survive for strategy and emotional storytelling. "Knowledge density cannot simply be prompted," a brand strategist said. "The brands that want to build long-term emotional equity will still need people who deeply understand human behaviour, culture, timing, and brand perception."
Others are less certain. One advertiser told BusinessDay: "We used to say this industry was recession-proof. People will always need to sell things. But it appears AI is taking up more roles and many people are being forced to pivot. That's why everyone has become a content creator these days."
For creatives looking to adapt, understanding how AI tools work for creatives has shifted from optional to necessary.
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