David Droga says artificial intelligence will wash away the market for mediocre human-made ads, forcing creatives to produce work that machines cannot replicate. His stark prediction lands just as OpenAI arrives at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity with a clear bid for the industry's ad revenue.
The founder of Droga5 and former CEO of Accenture Song told Semafor that the majority of advertising, marketing, and journalism is "pretty formulaic and average. So have at it. Get rid of that." He said 80% of the people clients pay "probably aren't doing an exceptional, stellar job anyway."
But Droga drew a sharp line between replication and originality. "The need for distinctions, originality, strategy, context, taste - all these incredible things that set apart things that actually move us forward - AI's not gonna do that," he said. His confidence rests on a belief that truly original work cannot be duplicated by systems trained on past data.
The blunt prediction for mid-tier creative work
Droga's comments point to a deeper upheaval across the industry. Major holding companies that once profited from media buying now face direct threats from AI tools that make ad placement faster and cheaper. Those tools will force creative agencies to become leaner as automated production replaces repetitive tasks.
If he were starting an agency today, Droga said, it would never reach 850 people in New York. He would encourage any creative person to start a company that influences businesses, but not "just an agency that's based on the model before." He suggested getting paid on outcomes rather than hours and proving that ideas are "liquid."
OpenAI's bid for advertising dollars
On Monday, OpenAI will host its first Cannes Lions event, previewing an ad business it aims to grow to $100 billion in annual revenue by the end of the decade. Since February, the company has rolled out a self-serve advertising platform, tested ads in Japan, and updated its Ad Tools document to mention AI-powered Creative Tools that can generate and localize ad creatives.
The company signaled confidence by scheduling a press event first thing Monday, with remarks from chief revenue officer Denise Dresser and a demo of its new ad products. It did not bring A-list celebrity talent or book massive stages, but the timing alone dominated early conversations at the festival.
How AI is reshaping search and ad buying
While creativity grabs headlines, the most lucrative AI-driven change may come from how people find and buy products. AI summaries from Google, ChatGPT, and Claude have already slashed organic web traffic, upending ecommerce and digital media. Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone told Semafor that the ad model will look much like traditional paid search, even with AI answer engines.
"All you're really talking about is the difference between how your keywords show up in a snippet or a link or how they show up in a paragraph written in sentence form," Lanzone said. He predicted lower clickthrough rates but higher conversion rates because users will understand a product before they click.
Why this matters for Creatives
For creatives, the message is clear: formulaic output is no longer a viable career path. Droga's forecast underscores that AI will force the industry to value only work that breaks from recognizable patterns. That does not mean the end of advertising jobs - it means the end of jobs built on repetitive execution. Real opportunity lies in mastering the strategic, taste-driven, and experimental aspects of the craft that AI cannot fake. As the debate over AI for Creatives intensifies, the professionals who invest in originality and learn to direct AI tools rather than compete with them will find the most fertile ground.
Your membership also unlocks:
