(Bespoke feature image. Devised by humans, generated by AI)
It’s happening already. We are getting emails and briefs by people in luxury brand marketing using AI. In an industry that praises craft, artistic skill, authenticity and originality, brand descriptions stand out by conspicuously lacking most, if not all, of these attributes.
Plugs abound for ‘timeless’, ‘exquisite’, ‘crafted’, ‘iconic’, ‘elegant’, ‘attention to detail’, ‘unique reflection’, ‘rich heritage’, ‘a blend of tradition and modernity’, ‘unparalleled sophistication’, ‘unrivalled comfort and sophistication’...
These are fine words, honest and true, but which lose all meaning when trotted out by luxury brand copywriters for the umpteenth time. From car to couture, to caviar, to cognac, to collectibles to cruises. (Full disclosure, we feel somewhat guilty having contributed to this state of affairs over the years for a good reason – market research actually shows that a certain amount of familiarity and sameness is comforting and reassuring to luxury brand buyers). Nevertheless, AI has changed things for those of us in the luxury copywriting business by turning familiarity into cliché.
We know their power. "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." Nelson Mandela wisely observed.
It will be one of the paradoxes of AI that the more widely it’s used, the more it risks producing sameness. What are we likely to get? Not a beating heart that’s for sure. And isn’t the business of luxury about getting hearts to beat?
Safe phrasing, familiar jargon, uniform language where human touch has been lost. Like stock photography or PowerPoint templates really. Convenient, but quickly generic.
But there is good news
With all trends and movements there is a cultural push back. When that shoe factory, up on the hill in 1850, started mass production, the artisan shoemakers down the road doubled down on their expertise, craftmanship and artisanal value. When fast fashion and overt bling branding dominate, luxury stressed heritage, quality, understatement and the merits of quiet wealth.
When corporate marketing speak and brand messaging become total jargon, luxury brands that speak different, stand out. Think Patek’s famous ‘generation’ end line, Hermès always refined and slightly formal copy, Tiffany’s touch of romance, Aston Martin authoritatively speaking of prestige, craftsmanship and legacy.
Maybe we will see more original, quirky, characterful copy, as befits an industry that prides itself for its distinctiveness. Luxury brands talk much about authenticity. Rightly so. And in language, it could take many forms.
Maybe more biographical. Founders’ origination stories are usually fascinating and sometimes the most interesting aspect of a brand. AI cannot react to tragedy and create. It cannot cry. It cannot grieve. We’ve written before on how many successful brands are rooted in tales of deprivation and loss. Individuals’ responses to what random awfulness life throws up, makes their businesses more human, interesting and real.
Maybe we will see more copywriting expertise given to place, words, and cultural quirks. Take songs. Music’s use of specific cities, streets, neighbourhoods and customs has been so successful. They made a world feel like an insider secret, but also a world that feels both specific and universal. Back in Yesterland, iconic songs like Route 66 or Take Me to the River turn geography itself into a narrative adventure. And if you haven’t experienced a Jambalaya on the Bayou - hard to do if your last slice of local cuisine was a cheese sandwich at your desk, in an overcrowded office, somewhere off the Watford roundabout - Hank Williams makes it come alive.
We may see brands claiming proudly how they are not using AI in their communication. Like saying things are handmade. ‘Written by hand. Crafted by a human’. It might make originality more visible and valuable than before.
We may see texture and edge by being imperfect or withholding. By not saying too much. A deliberate shortness of copy– anything to break up AI’s way of making everything polished and smooth. The luxury trope of ‘Less is More’ interpreted differently.
Again, using music as a reference, I think of John Cage’s famous Music of Silence. In 1952 he composed 4′33″ (Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds). The musicians do not play any notes for its entire length. The score instructs them not to produce any sound. Instead, ambient sounds in the performance space - coughing, rustling, traffic outside, birds, noise - becomes the ‘music.’ OK.
Challenging the definition of music isn’t for everyone. It’s not catchy, you can’t dance to it, and you can’t hum it in the shower.
Go deeper
Our hope is to see luxury brands delve a little deeper when crafting their messaging and brand stories. Reaching into richer symbolic codes using narratives that reference literary themes, or art history, or mythology. Leave the shallows to AI and go for depth
We may see language itself becoming part of the luxury brand's scarcity model. Just as luxury design houses protect patterns, words and tone might be guarded as IP.
We fear that AI will kill originality. But there is a glimmer. AI will get better, more sensitive, more emotionally attuned. And maybe – maybe – it will make originality in luxury brand copy rarer, more visible, more prized, more worth something. Maya Angelou puts it brilliantly:
"Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning."
We are the experts on not saying the same thing as everyone else
We speak your language. Two experienced luxury brand marketers working on your business.
Anew are a London-based luxury brand agency who help companies – such as Peninsula, Secret Atlas, Yanova, Bombardier, Universal Music, Hatch Mansfield and Boodles - increase brand profitability through sharper insights, distinctive propositions, creative ideas, new branding names, market research luxury logo design, messaging, online and offline content, coffee table books, luxury brand websites and faultless execution.
We are particularly adept at working directly with luxury brands, business owners, start-ups and entrepreneurs who are committed to sustainability, outstanding quality and craft. You can read more about us here.
Based in the heart of London, we'd be delighted to meet for a coffee, either face-to-face or virtually, to discuss any new luxury branding projects you might be considering.
To get in touch do drop us an email.
