At a time when AI is on the rise, and when 120,000 women have left the creative industries over the past two years, the Gerety Awards are unique because they judge all advertising, not just advertising to women, through the female lens.

The Gerety Awards event, held at VCCP London, centred around one of the most urgent and hotly debated topics the industry is facing. Asking ‘How can creative leaders truly ‘Unslop AI?’’, a panel of industry experts and Gerety Awards jury members considered both the risks and potential of AI in the creative process. 

The event brought together past Gerety jury members, speakers, partners, and collaborators from across the UK’s creative sector, underscoring the award’s global ecosystem and ongoing commitment to spotlighting creativity through a unique and powerful perspective.

A panel moderated by Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director at Creativebrief, saw Ciara O'Meara, Deputy Executive Creative Director at VCCP and Founder of The Unicorn Union, Valentina Culatti, Global Director of Creative Strategy and Production at Snap Inc, Thea Slevin, Executive Producer at Not Just Any and Mark Eaves, CEO of Gravity Road engage in an honest, open and future-facing conversation to consider the role of AI in creativity. 

Acknowledging that AI can be ‘a remarkable way to make unremarkable work’ the panel discussed the creative potential. The panel also considered how AI can spark unexpected, culturally resonant ideas and broaden who gets to participate in creative expression.

The panel shared that ‘slop’ predates AI and urged the industry to resist the temptation to rely on the past as a blueprint for the future. At the heart of conversation and reflected in the award-winning work at the Gerety Awards, is human judgment, taste and cultural intuition. Underlining that AI is best served as a tool to aid human creativity.

Mark Eaves, CEO of Gravity Road, stressed the importance of wisdom in the creative process. Noting that in an ecosystem overflowing with tools, trends, and data, “AI may accelerate the work, but it’s wisdom that elevates it.” Technology can amplify creative thinking, but cannot replace the depth that comes from human insight.

“What we heard in London is that the industry doesn’t fear AI — it fears sameness. The real opportunity is to use AI to bring more perspectives, more originality, and more humanity into the work,” added Lucía Ongay, Co-Founder of the Gerety Awards.

To realise its full creative potential, the industry must ensure it continues to look beyond the AI cynicism.

Photo credit: Milly Watson (@millywatsonn)