“An AI-generated campaign must be much cheaper, right?” The question deserves better than yes or no. We deliberately publish no figures: budgets vary too much from project to project. Here is instead a line-by-line reading grid to ask the real question: is it cheaper, or just different?
A traditional campaign: what you pay for
- Art direction and preparation.
- The photographer or video crew, equipment, studio or location.
- Models, styling, make-up, props.
- Production: logistics, scheduling, transport, insurance.
- Retouching, editing, grading, delivery of formats.
An AI campaign: what you also pay for
- Art direction, still needed, and even more so: without a clear intention, all results look alike.
- Generation: working time, trials, tool subscriptions.
- Selection: choosing among a large number of proposals takes time.
- Retouching and corrections: hands, text, consistency from one visual to the next, fidelity to real products.
- Control: compliance with brand guidelines, proofing, sign-off.
- Rights: tool terms of use, commercial usage, resemblance to existing people or works. To be checked with a lawyer.
What is really different
Some items shrink (travel, locations, shoot logistics), others appear or grow (iterations, corrections, control). The budget does not vanish: it moves from the shoot to direction, selection and finishing. A real product must stay faithful to reality: for that, a photo or video of the product is often still essential.
The right questions before choosing
- Does my image need to show reality (product, place, person) or illustrate an idea?
- How many versions and formats do I need?
- Who signs off, and who answers if a visual causes a problem?
- Are my usage conditions covered (distribution, duration, territory)?
- Would a mixed approach, real shoot plus assisted retouching, be more effective?
To go further: the CNC’s AI observatory (in French) · the Afdas study on generative AI (in French)
Key takeaway. An AI campaign is not free: the budget moves from the shoot to direction, selection and control. For real images, see our Business video.
A campaign budget to frame?
Describe your project: we help you choose between a shoot, retouching, or a mixed approach.