CityStride: My Mediocre AI Sneaker Commercial Concept
+Introducing Storyville with Newport Jazz, a very lost glove and music to flow with.
How helpful is AI in storyboarding a commercial? Developing a treatment? Compiling a shot list?
I started thinking about this after reading a LinkedIn post by Cole Heilborn, who hosts the Backcountry Marketing Podcast, about creating images for a commercial treatment. These are the AI images he shared.
I haven’t been able to get AI to create images this realistic yet and I started thinking: What would the shot list look like for this commercial? What would the narrative be? So like any lazy creative, I hit up ChatGPT for some answers.
I gave it a very quick and brief prompt:
I'm shooting a commercial for a running shoe brand. The commercial is 30 seconds long and shot in New York City. The narrative arc of the commercial is a male in his 30s who lives a busy life. He gets out of bed, gets ready for work but instead of putting on dress clothes he puts his running clothes on and runs to work. He runs past buses, taxis and subway and all the chaos of the city. Please provide a script and shot list for this commercial.
Here’s the result and btw, I did not tell it to name the main character John:
“Commercial Title: "CityStride"
INTRODUCTION
[Wide aerial shot of the New York City skyline at sunrise]
Voiceover (V.O.): "In the city that never sleeps..."
[Cut to a cozy bedroom with the alarm clock showing 5:30 AM]
Close-up of the alarm clock as it turns off.
[The male protagonist in his 30s, John, wakes up and stretches]
ACT 1 - THE AWAKENING
[Shot of John's busy city apartment, messy but full of life]
John moves towards his closet and opens the door.
[Slow-motion shot of John's hand selecting running clothes]
Voiceover (V.O.): "A busy life demands a different stride..."
John changes into his running clothes.
ACT 2 - THE TRANSFORMATION
[John steps out of his apartment building]
Shot from behind as John laces up his running shoes.
[John takes a deep breath and starts running]
John runs down the stairs and onto the bustling New York City streets.
[Cut to a close-up of his running shoes hitting the pavement]
The sound of his footsteps against the city's cacophony.
ACT 3 - THE RACE
[A series of dynamic shots of John running through the city]
John navigating through crowded sidewalks.
Close-up of John's determined face.
He sprints past buses, taxis, and the subway entrance.
John effortlessly avoids obstacles and weaves through the chaos.
ACT 4 - THE DESTINATION
[John arrives at his workplace, a modern office building]
John stops, panting but triumphant.
He takes a moment to catch his breath, sweat dripping.
[John enters the building, and the camera pans up to show the company logo]
ENDING
[Fade to a close-up of John's running shoes]
Voiceover (V.O.): "Elevate your daily grind with CityStride – for those who run the city."
[Product logo and tagline appear on the screen]
Voiceover (V.O.): "CityStride - Unleash the Runner in You."
[Fade out]
Shot List:
Aerial shot of New York City skyline at sunrise.
Cozy bedroom with the alarm clock at 5:30 AM.
John waking up and stretching.
John's busy city apartment.
John selecting running clothes from his closet (slow-motion).
Close-up of John changing into running clothes.
John stepping out of his apartment building.
Shot from behind as John laces up his running shoes.
John starting to run.
Close-up of his running shoes hitting the pavement.
Dynamic shots of John running through the city.
John navigating through crowded sidewalks.
Close-up of John's determined face.
John sprinting past buses, taxis, and the subway entrance.
John avoiding obstacles and weaving through the chaos.
John arriving at his workplace, a modern office building.
John stopping and catching his breath.
John entering the building.
Close-up of John's running shoes.
Product logo and tagline on the screen.
Make sure to capture various angles, use slow-motion for dramatic moments, and employ a high-energy soundtrack to enhance the excitement of the commercial. Additionally, consider using a professional runner as the actor for John to ensure a convincing portrayal of a dedicated runner.”
What do you think?
I’m kind of impressed. It’s not going to win a Cannes Lion, but let’s be honest most ads don’t. This concept seems very in line with the mediocre ads we see every day. ChatGPT has achieved creative mediocrity, which feels huge.
Here’s my attempt at getting images like Cole’s. They’re not nearly as good.
And here's the AI video that the same prompt gets on runwayml.com. This is the four-second version made with the free plan.
I guess that’s John above. Anyway, that’s my sneaker commercial. Thanks for watching. It took me about 15 minutes to make.
Reading this Week
I’m really excited to share Storyville, the new Newport Jazz Festival newsletter. I’ve been working on this project for a little while with the team at Newport Festivals Foundation and I’m incredibly happy to see it out in the world. There are a TON more stories to tell about lesser-known performances, well-known performances, behind-the-scenes action and so much more in this newsletter, so please go subscribe. It will be worth it.
Here’s what else I’m reading.
All about SEO: The people who ruined the internet. (Verge)
Bert is pissed. Sesame Street getting “reimagined.” (Hollywood Reporter)
This clever execution from WeTransfer with Matty Matheson (WeTransfer)
This interview with David Marchese, one of the best interviewers in the game. (CJR)
Buzzfeed selling off Complex Media. (Adweek)
Fire Sales Sweep the Creator Economy as Startups Struggle (The Information)
Martin and Francesca Scorsese, TikTok’s Dynamic Duo (New York Times)
Watching
No AI, just brilliant creative. This could be a movie. Hats off to Juicy Studios.
Listening
This beautiful song and everything on the Sen Am album.
Content Coverage Submissions
Worked on an interesting project? Seen a good video or have a photo project to suggest? Share your favorite pieces of content here and I’ll include the best in this newsletter.
AI has become an indispensabile tool in such a short time. Good stuff!