Advertising’s future lies in human imagination, not Artificial Intelligence – Experts

Michael Olumide Alabi

Leading marketing communication professionals have declared that the future of advertising will not be determined by technology alone but by the ability of creative professionals to combine Artificial Intelligence (AI) with human imagination, cultural understanding and emotional intelligence.

The experts made the submission during the 53rd Annual General Meeting and Congress of Advertising Practitioners held in Lagos on Friday, July 24, under the theme, “The End of Advertising as We Know It and How to Win What Comes Next.”

Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Marketing Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr. Meksley Nwagboh, said the changing landscape should not be viewed as the death of advertising but as an opportunity to rediscover its true purpose.

According to him, “The end of advertising is not a tragedy. It is an invitation to return to the true purpose of advertising—to understand people and move markets.”

Dr. Nwagboh noted that agencies capable of delivering creative solutions to clients’ business challenges would remain relevant regardless of their size, stressing that traditional go-to-market strategies are no longer sufficient in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.

He explained that effective marketing is no longer measured by the amount spent on advertising but by the ability of brands to create memorable experiences that consumers willingly share.

“The brands that will win will not necessarily be those with the biggest budgets or deepest pockets, but those that create moments people genuinely want to talk about,” he said.

To illustrate his point, Dr. Nwagboh cited a memorable marketing moment from the 2026 FIFA World Cup involving Norwegian Air and British Airways.

According to him, both airlines engaged in a friendly social media challenge in which the losing country’s airline agreed to temporarily adopt the winner’s Instagram branding.

Following England’s victory over Norway, Norwegian Air fulfilled its promise by changing its social media profile to resemble British Airways and congratulating the airline.

The exchange quickly attracted global attention, with millions of people engaging with the posts and other airlines joining the conversation despite neither airline being an official World Cup sponsor.

He described the campaign as a perfect example of modern advertising, where consumers themselves become the media through conversations, shares and engagement.

“Creativity is no longer confined to a 30-second commercial. Today, consumers are participants, storytellers and distributors. A clever idea that captures culture can generate more attention than campaigns backed by multi-million-dollar budgets,” he stated.

Speaking on Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Nwagboh said AI has moved beyond experimentation and is now an integral part of global marketing communications. However, he stressed that trust remains one of the industry’s greatest assets.

He urged agencies to remain competitive by investing in data capabilities, deepening consumer insights, becoming experience partners to clients, redesigning talent development, embracing collaboration, measuring meaningful outcomes, protecting originality and ensuring the responsible use of AI.

In his remarks, the President of the association, Adisa Lanre, Chief Executive of Noah’s Ark Communications, expressed confidence in the future of the advertising profession.

He said advertising has never been merely about producing campaigns but about solving business problems through powerful human insights and transformative ideas.

According to him, although AI will significantly reshape the industry’s operations, technology alone cannot create meaning.

“Algorithms can optimise. Machines can generate. But only people can imagine. Only people understand culture, emotions and changing human behaviour. The future belongs to those who combine technology with imagination, data with empathy and innovation with timeless human creativity,” he said.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Big Cabal Media, Tomiwa Aladekomo, declared that advertising in its traditional form is gradually coming to an end.

He argued that future success would belong to organisations that embrace predictive, participatory and accountable communication strategies rather than attempting to preserve outdated practices.

“The future will not be won by those who defend old habits with new vocabulary. It will be won by those who understand that the next era of communication must be more predictive, more participatory and, most importantly, more accountable,” he said.

The event also featured a high-level panel discussion involving Segun Akinyemiju, Head of White Spirits at Guinness Nigeria Plc; Rotimi Ade-Onojobi, Creative Director of Spice360 Limited; Damola R. Salvador, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Digisplash Limited; Mrs. Oluwatobiloba Beckley-Williams, Creative Director of 7even Interactive; and Mrs. Seun Adaramola, Marketing Director, Visa Nigeria. The session was moderated by Mrs. Oyindamola Fakile, a Creative Alchemist.

The panellists unanimously agreed that while Artificial Intelligence would continue to revolutionise advertising and marketing communications, it can never replace the originality, imagination and cultural intelligence that human beings bring to the creative process.

They concluded that AI should be seen as a powerful tool that complements—not replaces—human creativity, insisting that in the evolving digital era, human intelligence will always remain superior in imagination, cultural understanding and the ability to create meaningful connections with audiences.