Ashley Rutstein
If your content doesn't look like you tried hard enough to make it, humans won't care enough to pay attention to it.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Humans won't care enough to pay attention to it" over a silhouette of people]
Ashley Rutstein
I'm Ashley, a creative director with over 14 years of experience in the ad industry.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Ashley Rutstein Creative Director 14yrs of experience in the Ad Industry" with logos of various brands including Commonwealth, Jenny, Sober, MegaFood]
Ashley Rutstein
And I've been thinking a lot lately about why social content has been feeling so... hollow. What happened? AI. Optimization. Everything needing to be "Social First".
> [VISUAL: Purple background with text "Why social content has been feeling so... Hollow". Then silhouettes with angry faces and text "AI", "Optimization", "Everything needing to be 'Social First'"]
Ashley Rutstein
We've gone so far in that direction that we're no longer using social media to document real life. Life is just the feed now.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Life is just the feed now"]
Ashley Rutstein
There is so much content being posted online and not much humanity behind it at all.
> [VISUAL: Collage of various images and videos including a Michael Jackson impersonator, a cat pouring tea, and Donald Trump, with text "There is so much content being posted online". Then an image of a robot with text "Not much humanity behind it at all"]
Ashley Rutstein
So naturally, people are tired. There is so much internet fatigue. People are clinging onto moments of humanity. So how can brands embrace that humanity and make content and ads that people actually want to see?
Ashley Rutstein
I like to call it the effort signal. An element of the content that proves there are humans behind the brand and that those humans actually care.
> [VISUAL: Purple background with a radio tower icon and text "The Effort Signal: An element of the content that proves there are humans behind the brand"]
Ashley Rutstein
It's the elbow grease. The stuff that shows thought and intention and commitment. This effort can show up in a couple different ways.
Ashley Rutstein
You can put effort into the process by showing how your products or your ads get made. You can put effort into understanding your audience and getting to know them on a human-to-human level. And you can put effort into the form by choosing formats that require intention.
> [VISUAL: Icons and text appear: "Effort into the process" with gears, "Effort into the human connection" with a heart, "Effort into the form" with a bowl/cup]
Ashley Rutstein
Whether that's something physical, handmade, or just something that's deliberately not optimized for the algorithm.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Not optimized for the algorithm"]
Ashley Rutstein
Let's start with effort in the process. This is about showing your hand in how you made something.
> [VISUAL: Slide with a large yellow "1" on a red tag, and text "Effort in the process. This is about showing your hand in how you made something"]
Ashley Rutstein
We're in a moment where people are actively trying to spot AI. They are incredibly skeptical of every piece of content that comes across their feed. They know that a lot of companies are out here cutting corners left and right. So you need to talk about your process.
Ashley Rutstein
Show your work for anything you put out there, product or ad. And you can do this in a ton of different ways.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Show your work. For anything you put out there"]
Ashley Rutstein
You can make your stance on AI super clear like Dove. They publicly pledged to never use AI imagery in place of real people.
> [VISUAL: Slide with text "The Dove Real Beauty Pledge. Dove is committed to making beauty a source of happiness for all women, not anxiety, today and for generations to come. We believe that every woman should be able to define beauty on their own terms: making it a source of joy and self-expression." and a photo of a diverse group of women]
Ashley Rutstein
You can also show how something is made to preempt any of those comments that say, "Is this AI?" If you're doing something that includes any type of animation or illustration or computer-generated graphics of any kind, you will likely be accused of using AI. So you need to nip that in the bud and prove that you're not using AI, if that's the case.
Ashley Rutstein
Chamberlain Coffee did this really cool stop-motion short video, but they also posted the behind-the-scenes video to show how they actually made it. We see them painting the characters, building the miniature sets, and then the caption says, "Handcrafted, just like our coffee."
> [VISUAL: Split screen showing a stop-motion animation of a blue dog at an auction on the left, and behind-the-scenes footage of the set, characters, and filming process on the right]
Ashley Rutstein
The process is the proof of effort. And behind the scenes doesn't just have to mean the making of the ad, it can also be the making of the product.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "The process is the proof of effort"]
Ashley Rutstein
A lot of companies hide their manufacturing processes for many different reasons. But if you can take pride in how your product is made, give people a glimpse of the human hands and thought going into the process. You could also show a behind the scenes of the team and the people behind the brand.
Ashley Rutstein
To promote an upcoming launch, Cocokind just took a screenshot of some Slack messages from their team to show that there are real people behind this brand that are excited about this upcoming product. It's not just a faceless corporation pushing out product.
> [VISUAL: Screenshot of a Slack channel named "# coco-loco". A photo of a new product is shared, and team members reply with excited messages. Text overlay: "POV: you're on team cocokind and get a sneak peek of our newest launch"]
Ashley Rutstein
So that's effort in the process. Visible intention in how things get made. Then there's effort in understanding. Half of US consumers feel ignored by marketers, despite all of the super detailed targeting options. And 70% of US consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand that engages with their favorite communities.
> [VISUAL: Slide with a large "2" on a green tag, and text "Effort in understanding". Then text overlays: "50% of US consumers feel ignored by marketers" and "70% of US consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand that engages with their favourite communities"]
Ashley Rutstein
You need to prove to your audience that they are not just a number to you. And you do that by really getting to know them and understanding them on a deeper level.
Ashley Rutstein
A great way to do that is with communities. Lodge Cast Iron has a Facebook group. No Reception Club, who makes the best diaper bag ever, also has a Facebook group. These brand-led groups are really growing, along with subreddits, Discords, WhatsApp groups.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Communities". Then screenshots of Facebook groups: "The Official Lodge Cast Iron Community" and "No Reception Clubhouse"]
Ashley Rutstein
These are two-way spaces where the brand can show up and actually interact with their customers. And you can use what you learn in these communities to better communicate with them, both in organic and paid content.
Ashley Rutstein
And even if you can't or don't want to host your own space, you can still get involved in the niche and micro-communities that your audience is a part of. Jack in the Box sponsored a network of Fortnite-related Discord servers. They put effort and money into enabling something their audience already cared about. That shows effort to understand them.
> [VISUAL: Screenshot of an article from Digiday titled "Advertisers like Jack in the Box are dipping their toes into Discord at an advantageous time for the platform". Highlighted text mentions Jack in the Box collaborating with agency Midnite to sponsor a network of servers including NA Practice Series, a Fortnite community on Discord]
Ashley Rutstein
An example on a much larger scale is Spotify's data-driven campaign that they've been running for years. The entire campaign is built on very niche and specific understanding of their audience and their music preferences. These ads feel like inside jokes. If you identify with one of the pieces of data they're featuring on the ads, you feel seen, like you've found your people.
> [VISUAL: Collage of Spotify billboard ads. One says "Only Canadians know that Canadians may not be as nice as everyone thinks. Canadian True Crime was the 14th top streamed podcast last month." Another says "Only Little Monsters could love this much. Lady Gaga fans have created 119,314+ playlists with 'love' in the title." Another says "Only SZA fans could be this optimistic. 'Good Days' is played 74,102,232+ times a day before noon." Then screenshots of Spotify Wrapped screens]
Ashley Rutstein
While this is on a very large scale and Spotify has access to an immense amount of data that most of us don't have, you can still tap into this. You can learn about the specific preferences and quirks of your customers. And at a more granular level, you can show that effort in understanding your audience in little things like hooks and captions.
Ashley Rutstein
Like the fact that Armra pulled out a review that said, "those poops are curplunkin'." That is so specific and human. That tells me that the brand truly understands what people want out of their product.
> [VISUAL: An ad for ARMRA Colostrum featuring a quote: "...those poops are curplunkin' and I want to cry tears of joy." - VERIFIED ARMRA CUSTOMER]
Ashley Rutstein
And to put "Good Soup" on an ad, that is such an internet inside joke that you know that a human put this together. It is truly the mentality of "the ones that get it, get it." The brands who take the time and energy to get to know their audience will get the reward.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Good Soup". Then an ad for Pela phone cases showing various designs, one of which features a bowl of soup and the text "Good Soup Season". Text overlay "The ones that get it, get it"]
Ashley Rutstein
And finally, you can put effort in the form. People are craving tangible, analog experiences. Pinterest showed a big increase in searches for pen pals and handwritten letters. Talk of analog hobbies is everywhere.
> [VISUAL: Slide with a large "3" on a black tag, and text "Effort in the form". Then a Pinterest search bar graphic showing searches for "Pen Pals" and "Handwritten letters"]
Ashley Rutstein
People are seeking out physical things like stationery, magazines, vinyl records. They're doing puzzles, they're using film cameras. And with this has come a resurgence of print marketing. I saw this coming a year or two ago, but in the age of AI, it has really taken off.
Ashley Rutstein
Brands are bringing back printed catalogs, print ads, physical collectibles. These physical artifacts signal intention and effort from the brand that made them. Red Wing Shoes just made a campaign where they built billboards out of actual lumber and leather. And they said, "Made the hard way."
> [VISUAL: Text overlays: "Printed catalogues", "Print ads", "Physical collectables". Then text "These signal intention and effort from the brand that made them". Then a photo of a large wooden billboard for Red Wing Shoes that says "MADE THE HARD WAY" with three people sitting on a platform below it]
Ashley Rutstein
The form of these ads is the message. The form is the hero. To promote an upcoming movie with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, A24 put a fake printed engagement announcement in the Boston Globe.
> [VISUAL: A photo of a newspaper clipping from The Boston Globe showing an engagement announcement for "Meredith and Pons" with a photo of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson]
Ashley Rutstein
They committed to the bit by using the traditional form of how engagements are announced with print media. It's unexpected, and the effort shows. And like I said, brands are bringing back printed catalogs. J.Crew brought theirs back, Walmart brought theirs back. The Onion went back into print with their satire newspaper, and that brought in 50,000 new subscribers.
> [VISUAL: A photo of a printed newspaper with "the ONION" logo. Text overlays: "25,001 New subscribers", then changes to "50,000 New subscribers"]
Ashley Rutstein
And there is so much potential to create content with a printed catalog. You can take photos and videos of someone just sitting and reading it. You can do flat lays, flipping through the pages. You can tear pages out of it and put them on a wall, make mood boards. Interact with it in literally any way.
Ashley Rutstein
The fragrance brand Ffern has built an entire content strategy around physical creations and formats. They release a new scent every season. And with every new scent, they create so many different visual and physical interpretations of that scent that they then turn into social content and ads. They make Rube Goldberg machines, flower arrangements, paper art, a giant accordion. They make real things and film them.
> [VISUAL: Text overlay "Ffern". Then a collage of vertical videos from Ffern showing various physical creations: two men playing a giant accordion, a man arranging flowers, paper art of peaches and flowers, a Rube Goldberg machine]
Ashley Rutstein
And it can be even simpler than that. You don't have to go to crazy lengths to make some gigantic creation or super intricate art. Literally just printing something out is more effort than most brands will put in. Like Cocokind printed out this infographic and taped their product onto the wall. But for some reason, just seeing that they physically did this makes this ad more interesting.
> [VISUAL: A photo of a printed infographic for Cocokind "Electrolyte Water Cream" taped to a purple wall, with the actual tube of cream taped next to it]
Ashley Rutstein
A dental brand showed how their teeth whitener works by putting it on a bunch of different pieces of fruit. The form they chose to demo their product shows effort. It can also be the form of the ad itself. Like this incredible ad from DedCool.
> [VISUAL: A vertical video ad for DedCool. A woman is sitting on the floor holding a microphone, with DedCool products hanging from strings behind her. Text overlay: "Oh yeah I'm Carina and welcome to the wonderful world of DedCool. I know you're probably wondering"]
Ashley Rutstein
It's almost four minutes of the owner just talking about why she made the brand and what it's all about. It's educational, it's silly, it's full of personality and interesting visuals and edits. You can tell the brand put a lot of effort into making this, even though it doesn't look like a traditionally polished ad. The effort there is obvious.
Ashley Rutstein
So choose formats that prove your intention and commitment. So remember, effort is your edge. AI is going to keep getting better. Content is going to keep getting easier to make. Which means effort is only going to become more visible and obvious.
Ashley Rutstein
With every piece of content or ad you make, ask yourself, how can we show effort? Even if it's in a very small way, what signals can you give to people that a human being put this together? It is harder. It can often take more time. But that's exactly why you'll stand out for doing it.
Ashley Rutstein
So tell me in the comments, what sort of signals of effort have you been seeing on the internet recently? And let's all agree to bring some of that humanity back to our content.
