AI Isn’t Replacing Creativity, It’s Amplifying It

When advertising royalty speaks, the boardroom should listen. Sir John Hegarty, founder of creative agency BBH, recently dropped a characteristically sharp and contrarian take on AI’s role in marketing. Far from fearing it, he welcomes it. And after decades of leading the charge in creative revolutions, his optimism isn’t naïve; it’s informed, visionary, and, crucially, commercial.

Let’s not sugarcoat it, AI is already rearranging the furniture in the marketing industry. As Hegarty puts it, “One person could now do what an entire department used to.” Platforms like Meta have made it possible for anyone to generate and focus their own campaigns with a few clicks and prompts. The markets noticed. Agency stocks dipped. Some panicked. But that’s only the first half of the story.

The real story, the boardroom-relevant narrative, is about what AI unlocks. It removes the drudgery. The admin. The countless hours spent referencing, checking, re-checking. What’s left is a clearer runway for creativity to take off. “AI is not a tool,” says Hegarty. “Think of it as a collaborator.”

This shift levels the playing field. Yes, everyone now has access to tools that were once the domain of high-fee agencies. But that also raises the bar. And this is where senior leaders should take note: your brand’s value won’t lie in how quickly you deploy AI, but in how imaginatively you direct it.

In short, your competitive advantage will come from your Key Selling Personality – the unique tone, taste, and cultural resonance your team brings to the table. Because AI, for all its data-fed brilliance, cannot make “imaginative leaps.” It can’t invent Game of Thrones, conjure Harry Potter, or see Dora Maar through Picasso’s eyes.

Hegarty draws a striking historical parallel: “When Gutenberg invented movable type, nobody realised he was creating the opportunity for the Renaissance.” The printing press didn’t kill creativity, it multiplied it. So will AI.

So what should be on your board agenda?

• Creative leadership: Now more than ever, marketing teams need strong creative direction. Not tighter controls, but bolder visions.
• Strategic use of AI: Deploy AI to eliminate inefficiencies, not ideas. Use it to supercharge thinking, not replace it.
• Culture of originality: Foster environments where human imagination thrives alongside algorithms.

The future won’t be less creative. It will be more creative, faster. But only if we stop treating AI as a threat and start treating it as the apprentice that allows your top talent to do what only humans can: imagine the unimaginable.

As Hegarty says, you can’t stop progress. But you can lead it.