Experiments with AI in the Creative Process

In-house OOH campaigns are rare opportunities to exercise creativity beyond the usual brand tone. They can be tailored to their context - location, audience, event - and reframe a brand's core narrative. So, with limited resources and time, we experimented with something new: integrating AI into our creative process.

While we had reservations at first - AI-generated images can be low-quality or unoriginal - we were proud of the result. Ultimately we found that using AI helped us increase our creative velocity: the speed at which our ideas could become real and move to execution.

Early Phase: Concept Development

Our creative process still began with brainstorming and sketching visual ideas. We used ChatGPT-5 to bounce ideas back and forth. In this early phase, AI helped us:

• Quickly generate images to communicate concepts

• Create numerous copy variations to expand our brainstorms

• Research contextually relevant information

Mid Phase: Fleshing out a direction

After working with the broader marketing team to set a direction, we moved into the focus and exploration stage. Our goal was to take the chosen direction and flesh it out into a clear visual direction and design system. To do that, we had to cast the net a little wider to see the full range of where our direction could take us.

This phase of the creative process was drastically different from our normal cadence. What would have previously been time spent crafting visual components—we spent prompting. Different models produced different visual results, and each had its own quirks and prompt preferences.

The chosen direction for this campaign—a focus on the parallel between Statsig as the “Engine that powers product growth” with the literal engines that power F1 cars. Here, a combo of stock imager and AI images were used to show the rough concept for alignment.

Key learnings for prompting

1. Clarify your vision first—creative direction is key This is the pivotal point in the creative process where you either use AI creatively or let AI be creative for you.

Image generation is currently too random. Slight differences in colors, lighting, texture, or camera lens distortion create different visual cues and implications for creative direction. Know what you want and what your goal is. Fine-tune your prompts and post-edit generated images to get what you need.

2. Use AI to optimize for AI Once you've set a clear creative direction, refine your language to work with the specific image generation models you're using.

Here, we took a preliminary written prompt and asked ChatGPT-5 to optimize it for Sora.

3. Tune into keywords and test them methodically. Change one aspect of your prompt at a time, or run the same prompt multiple times to see how much it varies. The goal is to stress test your prompt and identify which elements are doing the heavy lifting—so you can be more precise.

Here were the final prompts we ended up with (using Sora chatgpt-5)

1. Mercedes-AMG M16 E Performance V6 Engine Generate a hero billboard image of a Mercedes-AMG M16 E Performance V6 engine, photographed in a studio but finished with the sleek precision of a Cinema4D render. The engine should be centered on a neutral matte background with studio lighting, soft gradient shadows, and even illumination. Emphasize tactile surface detail: matte polymer, ceramic, brushed metal, subtle CNC-machined precision, and 3D-printed prototype realism. Render the entire object in #D9DFE8 with soft highlights and shadows. The aesthetic should feel like an industrial prototype study — between product rendering, engineering illustration, and luxury prototype photography. Keywords: 3D printed prototype, industrial object photography, CNC-machined precision, unpainted engineering model, product hero render, luxury prototype photography. Do not include logos.

2. F1 Pit Stop Wheel Gun Generate a hero billboard image of an F1 pit stop wheel gun, photographed in a studio but finished with the sleek precision of a Cinema4D render. The tool should be centered on a matte background, with clean studio lighting, soft shadows, and smooth gradients. Render the wheel gun entirely in #D9DFE8, with subtle highlights to emphasize form. Emphasize materials and textures: brushed metal, matte polymer housing, and engineered precision details. The mood should be bold, precise, and industrially elegant, like a prototype product study. Keywords: industrial object photography, 3D printed prototype, CNC-machined precision, product hero render, luxury prototype photography. Do not include logos.

3. Airplane Engine Generate a hero billboard image of an airplane engine, centered in the frame, photographed like a 3D-printed prototype but rendered with Cinema4D precision. Place the object on a neutral matte background, with studio lighting, soft gradient shadows, and clean illumination. Render the entire engine in #D9DFE8, with crisp edges and tactile detail. Highlight materials: matte composite, ceramic, brushed metal, and engineering prototype realism. The mood should be muscular, dramatic, yet elegant. Keywords: industrial prototype photography, 3D print realism, CNC-machined precision, product hero render, luxury engineering photography. Do not include logos.

4. F1 Tire (Front View, No Rims) Generate a hero billboard image of an F1 tire from the front view with no rims, rendered as if it were a 3D-printed prototype photographed in a studio. The tire should be centered against a matte neutral background, with studio lighting, soft shadows, and smooth gradients. Render the tire entirely in #D9DFE8, with subtle surface highlights to show rubber texture and form. The aesthetic should feel like a luxury prototype study between engineering illustration and industrial object photography. Keywords: 3D printed prototype, industrial product study, matte polymer, photoreal product hero render. Do not include logos.

5. F1 Race Car (Top Down View) Generate a hero billboard image of an F1 race car from the top down view, rendered as a 3D-printed prototype photographed in a studio with Cinema4D polish. The car should be centered on a neutral matte background, perfectly orthographic, with clean lighting, gradient shadows, and precise surface detailing. Render the car entirely in #D9DFE8, with soft contrast to emphasize curves and geometry. Materials should feel prototype-real: matte composite, ceramic, brushed metal, subtle 3D print texture. The mood should be bold, precise, engineered, like a sculptural product study. Keywords: industrial object photography, CNC-machined precision, 3D printed prototype, product hero render, luxury prototype photography. Do not include logos.

6. Race Car Exhaust Pipes Generate a hero billboard image of race car exhaust pipes, centered and rendered as if 3D-printed and photographed in a controlled studio environment. Use a neutral matte background, studio lighting, soft gradient shadows, and clean composition. Render the pipes fully in #D9DFE8, with subtle reflections to emphasize curvature and surface transitions. Emphasize materials: brushed steel, matte ceramic coating, and tactile prototype realism. The aesthetic should feel muscular, sculptural, and precise, like an industrial prototype photographed as a product hero object. Keywords: industrial object photography, 3D printed prototype, CNC-machined precision, brushed metal, product hero render. Do not include logos.

Execution Phase: Refining Creative to Ship

To get our creative ready to ship, we still had a lot of work cut out for us: finalizing copy, pairing images with corresponding text, and creating a dynamic layout system—the usual.

In this phase, AI actually slowed us down due to its current limitations in image generation. It was frustrating how many visual liberties AI took, even after we provided clear reference images. (For example, uploading a picture of a pit stop wheel gun would generate something that looked like a hair dryer.)

Even after getting the generated image "close enough," the resolution was low, edges were messy, and details were off. We did extensive post-editing to make the generated images production-ready.

This OOH campaign showed how quickly AI can accelerate the early-to-mid phase of the creative process—but also how strong creative direction is key to giving velocity intention. Traditionally, we would have needed specialized skills to either 3D render all the images or have these models built and photographed in a studio. Both options are out of reach for a small team with limited resources. But successfully delivering this vision also sparks imagination for our cross-functional partners—that maybe one day it's worth investing more time, money, and external talent to push our creative to the next level.