2024 Winner
BronzeBest in Durable Goods
STAEDTLER-Mars
"The Brilliance of the
Human Hand"
DonerNorth
"The Brilliance of the
Human Hand"
DonerNorth
In 2023, headlines about A.I. encroaching on many industries dominated the conversation. One group that was often included as the next to be replaced was artists. Time after time the story came out that A.I. was set to make artists obsolete.
Launching a new pen designed to be used by human artists in the midst of this cultural
conversation brought a unique set of challenges. Add to that a relatively modest budget that needed to propel enough breakthrough to flip the conversation, drive product sell-through, and ultimately justify rolling out more product onto shelves. So how could Staedtler, a brand with a long history of helping artists put pen to paper, make a new line of pens feel relevant in a time like this? By reaffirming Staedtler’s commitment to artists and celebrating their irreplaceable contribution to art.
The agency lasered in on another topic in the headlines – the fact that A.I. just couldn’t get a grasp on creating human hands. Every AI-generated piece that included hands either had them neatly tucked away out of sight or mangled and subhuman.
This was their in; their chance to show that A.I. could never measure up to human artists.
The brand partnered with artist and influencer, Leah Probst, to create the ultimate artistic showdown of human creativity vs. artificial intelligence. They gave the same prompt to A.I. and their artist. The prompt – ‘two people holding hands’ – was intenRonally vague, allowing space for each opponent to bring their own personal expression to the task.
In video content, viewers were captivated and entertained as our artist used the pens to build a beautiful work of art.
The piece depicted two hands embracing one another in a way that wordlessly told a story of deep connection and intimacy. Colours leapt off the canvas conveying a warmth and passion that could never be exactly replicated. The A.I. creation was in every way its opposite; cold, emotionless, and void of any understanding of human complexity (not to mention the creepy, twisted extra fingers it added).
The brand reached their target in the place they spent much of their time consuming inspiration – social media. Soon the online artist community flooded the internet with of one-of-a-kind pieces that brought a wealth of individuality and personal expression to the same prompt.
Art influencers took the challenge, filling feeds with their take on the prompt. Inspired by their content, art lovers did the same. Before they knew it, the art community had rallied behind this call to put A.I. in its place, and many were using Staedtler to do it. Once the brand’s target saw the brilliance, the agency retargeted with harder conversion-driving social that spoke to the pens’ unique features and
led to ecommerce.
A traditional art brand centering its campaign around A.I. was unheard of. But that’s precisely why it broke through with its audience. Rather than ignoring the tech elephant in the room, Staedtler rallied artists to charge at it full force. When everyone was singing the praises of AI and its capabilities, they leveraged one of its remaining and most notorious flaws to make our case. They jumped into the all emerging AI world and put it to the test, knowing it would prove what Staedtler, and the artist community already knew – that there’s still value in humanity, especially in the world of art.
The agency turned a small budget ($150,000) into a lot of interested eyeballs, surpassing benchmarked impressions by 145% and earning nearly 9 million views. Engagement far surpassed expectations (336,518) proving that their message resonated with their niche audience. The campaign was even featured in some of the artist community’s favourite international publications like Hi-Fructose and is heading around the world as the chosen campaign for Staedtler’s global rollout. And did the pens sell? Well, the core 12 pack sold out… and then sold through 42% of the backorder. Most importantly, positive comments on the campaign pieces poured in from their target in a way the brand hadn’t seen in quite some time.
Was AI used in this work?
AI was used to create the art piece that all our human artists went up against. This piece was a tangible and clear symbol of the qualities only humans can bring to the world of art and helped us prove our point – that human artists are irreplaceable.
Launching a new pen designed to be used by human artists in the midst of this cultural
conversation brought a unique set of challenges. Add to that a relatively modest budget that needed to propel enough breakthrough to flip the conversation, drive product sell-through, and ultimately justify rolling out more product onto shelves. So how could Staedtler, a brand with a long history of helping artists put pen to paper, make a new line of pens feel relevant in a time like this? By reaffirming Staedtler’s commitment to artists and celebrating their irreplaceable contribution to art.
The agency lasered in on another topic in the headlines – the fact that A.I. just couldn’t get a grasp on creating human hands. Every AI-generated piece that included hands either had them neatly tucked away out of sight or mangled and subhuman.
This was their in; their chance to show that A.I. could never measure up to human artists.
The brand partnered with artist and influencer, Leah Probst, to create the ultimate artistic showdown of human creativity vs. artificial intelligence. They gave the same prompt to A.I. and their artist. The prompt – ‘two people holding hands’ – was intenRonally vague, allowing space for each opponent to bring their own personal expression to the task.
In video content, viewers were captivated and entertained as our artist used the pens to build a beautiful work of art.
The piece depicted two hands embracing one another in a way that wordlessly told a story of deep connection and intimacy. Colours leapt off the canvas conveying a warmth and passion that could never be exactly replicated. The A.I. creation was in every way its opposite; cold, emotionless, and void of any understanding of human complexity (not to mention the creepy, twisted extra fingers it added).
The brand reached their target in the place they spent much of their time consuming inspiration – social media. Soon the online artist community flooded the internet with of one-of-a-kind pieces that brought a wealth of individuality and personal expression to the same prompt.
Art influencers took the challenge, filling feeds with their take on the prompt. Inspired by their content, art lovers did the same. Before they knew it, the art community had rallied behind this call to put A.I. in its place, and many were using Staedtler to do it. Once the brand’s target saw the brilliance, the agency retargeted with harder conversion-driving social that spoke to the pens’ unique features and
led to ecommerce.
A traditional art brand centering its campaign around A.I. was unheard of. But that’s precisely why it broke through with its audience. Rather than ignoring the tech elephant in the room, Staedtler rallied artists to charge at it full force. When everyone was singing the praises of AI and its capabilities, they leveraged one of its remaining and most notorious flaws to make our case. They jumped into the all emerging AI world and put it to the test, knowing it would prove what Staedtler, and the artist community already knew – that there’s still value in humanity, especially in the world of art.
The agency turned a small budget ($150,000) into a lot of interested eyeballs, surpassing benchmarked impressions by 145% and earning nearly 9 million views. Engagement far surpassed expectations (336,518) proving that their message resonated with their niche audience. The campaign was even featured in some of the artist community’s favourite international publications like Hi-Fructose and is heading around the world as the chosen campaign for Staedtler’s global rollout. And did the pens sell? Well, the core 12 pack sold out… and then sold through 42% of the backorder. Most importantly, positive comments on the campaign pieces poured in from their target in a way the brand hadn’t seen in quite some time.
Was AI used in this work?
AI was used to create the art piece that all our human artists went up against. This piece was a tangible and clear symbol of the qualities only humans can bring to the world of art and helped us prove our point – that human artists are irreplaceable.
Credits
Agency: DonerNorthChief Creative Officer: Lance Martin
Creative Directors: Daniel Bennett & Jill Mack
Art Director: Daniel Bennett
Copywriter: Jill Mack
Integrated Producer: Will Bodak
Chief Strategy Officer: Adrianne Gaffney Wotherspoon
Strategic Planning Director: Maria Jurewicz
President: Catherine Marcolin
VP, Managing Director Account Service: Raluca Kostovski
Account Supervisor: Kathryn Lapointe
Media Director: Rob Middleton
Digital Media Manager: Erfan Pirhooshiar
Production Company: Campsite Studios
Executive Producer: Katie Christensen
Director: Jesse Hunt
Line Producer: Vince Hattrup
Director of Photography: Nik Pilecki
Post Production: Campsite Studio & School Editing
Editor: Genevieve Latour
Post Producer: Jesse Hunt
Transfer/Colourist: Nik Pilecki
Post F/X: Fort York
F/X Producer: Pallavi Joshi-Firby
Audio Production: Eggplant Music & Sound
Audio Producer: Laura Mettett
Voice Director: Jamie Pennock
Media Agency: Doner Media
Media Director: Rob Middleton