Brand Trends 2025: Balancing Authenticity with Technology
JANUARY 24, 2025
By: Gerry Frank
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in recent years, it’s that trying to predict the future is about as accurate as predicting what my cat is thinking at any given time.
What we can do is learn from the trends we’re seeing in branding and design to help guide our decision-making as we look at what’s ahead of us in 2025.
One of those trends is the increased focus on being true and authentic to your brand.
At a time when so much is changing around us, it’s important to stay true to your roots and what you stand for.
Meanwhile, AI innovation is driving a rapid increase of newer, flashier, and more robust tools that can help us create complex and elaborate photography, videos, code, reports —pretty much anything.
The key for brands and designers moving forward is to find a way for these two trends to align, not collide. AI tools should be put to work to support and amplify your authenticity, not undermine it.
After all, just because you can doesn’t always mean you should.
There’s no shortage of examples in which an over-reliance on AI bells and whistles have damaged a brand’s reputation and credibility.
For instance, one of this country’s beloved brands — Coca Cola — produced a series of videos essentially remaking/rebooting decades old “classic” Coke ads, but with a new “modern” vibe.
They used Generative AI to create all of the key elements of the ads — the people, polar bears, trucks, street scenes. Sounds amazing, right?
Not so much.
The public outcry was swift and harsh. While some appreciated the use of tech, most of the comments were negative. That’s because the people and scenes were fake and the ads themselves lacked realism and meaningful connection.
Another example comes from the iconic carmaker Jaguar, which is getting maligned for its most recent TV spot.
If you’re looking for something that completely ignores its heritage and leaves you wondering what you just saw – well, you’re in luck.
There’s a reason brands such as Oscar Meyer are resurrecting decades-old jingles like “my bologna has a first name” and Life cereal is bringing back Mikey (if you’re too young to remember Mikey, here’s a primer). Even Levi’s is pulling from its decades-old archives to show its history.
These moves are tapping into consumers yearning for nostalgia and authenticity amid ad fatigue and growing mistrust of social media platforms.
As you consider how to visually present your brand in the year ahead, find ways to use technology wisely to reinforce and revitalize your brand while staying true to your authentic self.
Disclaimer: No AI was involved in the writing of this (but my cat may have stepped on the keyboard during production).
