Crystal Light goes boozy, Volvo’s new AI ad raises eyebrows, and Pretty Little Thing tries to glow up

This week in branding news, Volvo released its first-ever entirely AI-generated ad, fashion brand Pretty Little Thing attempted to overhaul its brand image, and Crystal Light made a late bid on the canned cocktail craze. Here’s everything you need to know.

Volvo veers into the uncanny valley

The news: Volvo just released a new AI-generated ad, and it doesn’t include a single car. That was probably a mistake.

Big picture: The ad, which aired in Saudi Arabia, is Volvo’s first spot made entirely with AI. Created by the agency Lion, the minute-long video used Midjourney for visuals, Runway editing software for touch-ups, and ChatGPT for narration. It’s essentially a slideshow of clips, including models gazing into the camera, kids smiling up at the sky, and, for some reason, sports fans gathering in a stadium. At no point does a Volvo vehicle appear in the work. 

Why it matters: The issue with Volvo’s new ad is not necessarily that it relies on AI tools (most advertising professionals will tell you that AI tech is bound to reshape the entire industry, whether we like it or not), but more so that said AI was used so clumsily. To start, the spot has no discernible plot, instead appearing to skip nonsensically between brief AI prompts with little apparent attempt to edit the shots together. The clips themselves display a clear disregard for the current state of AI-generated video by relying mainly on human bodies and expressions, two of the visuals that AI has yet to reliably recreate—resulting in plasticky, overly-airbrushed models that veer straight into the uncanny valley.

Volvo’s choices in this ad are even more head-scratching given that we have evidence of an actually good AI-generated Volvo ad—one that was made nine months ago, in less than 24 hours, by a random guy. The speculative ad, created by colorist László Gaál, follows a Volvo vehicle as it speeds through a deserted city, bringing the crumbling architecture back to life by leaving a flood of greenery in its wake. Despite a comparatively tiny budget and time investment, the ad went viral for convincing many viewers, and even some marketing professionals, that it was authentic. The chances of a similar phenomenon occurring with Volvo’s official new ad are close to zero.

Pretty Little Thing tries to glow up

The news: The fast fashion site Pretty Little Thing (PLT) just rebranded to a new look that mimics luxury brands, and the internet is calling it the end of “the BBL aesthetic.”

Big picture: PLT has swapped its former branding—a millennial pink-based design with a basic, sans-serif logo—for a chic new rebrand that uses a darker color palette, calligraphic wordmark, and monogram logo. It’s a full 180 shift that’s clearly taken its inspiration from high fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood. The move is an attempt to reposition PLT away from its reputation for cheap fast fashion and toward a new era as a slightly pricier site to find dupes for the “quiet luxury” and “clean girl” aesthetics.

“[PLT has] removed the bbl fashion and it’s more clean girl aesthetic now,” one tweet with 67,000 likes reads. “Wow the bbl aesthetic is really out.”

Why it matters: PLT’s transparent bid to distance itself from the visual trappings of fast fashion should not distract from the fact that there’s no evidence that its business model has actually changed. In 2023, the company received a meager 23% on Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Index for poor labor standards, a lack of sustainability efforts, and little discernible effort to minimize animal suffering.

“As it stands, the rebrand doesn’t entirely place PLT in the ‘affordable luxury’ sector,” Vicky Bullen, CEO at design agency Coley Porter Bell, told Creative Bloq. “While its refreshed design draws on some of the cues of luxury brands to create a somewhat more ‘sophisticated’ feel for the company, a brand is much more than just its logo and visuals.”

Crystal Light goes boozy

The news: Your mom’s favorite lemonade brand in the ‘90s, Crystal Light, is going after Gen Z.

Big picture: In a bid to cash in on both its nostalgia-inducing branding and a growing interest in ready-made cocktails, Crystal Light is set to release an alcoholic take on its lemonade packets. The brand just announced a line of canned vodka refreshers, which, like the OG lemonade, will be low calorie and made with artificial sweetener. 

Why it matters: As household brands continue to vie for a piece of White Claw’s success, the RTD space is becoming increasingly oversaturated. Over the past few years, we’ve borne witness to Sunny D vodka, spiked AriZona Iced Tea, Fresca Mixed, and alcoholic Dunkin’ drinks—and, honestly, Crystal Light’s late bid on the space feels a tad bit desperate.

“The bladder isn’t big enough to handle them all,” Gary Stibel, CEO of New England Consulting Group, told AdAge. “A few will succeed, but the ones that succeed will be based upon good marketing, not just good product.”

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