2025 Korea Digital Advertising Award Winner: All steps except subtitles are created by AI—An industry in turmoil, predictions that only top models will survive
Amidst a mix of expectations and concerns about artificial intelligence (AI), a gigantic “AI tsunami'' is sweeping through the advertising industry, which has long been considered a creative field.
Recently, the advertising industry has been embroiled in an unprecedented controversy over the gold medal winning work of the 2025 Korea Digital Advertising Awards. The highlight is the commercial produced by MPLANIT for Mediterrasa's premium Greek olive oil “Alea''. It is an “all-AI” video, with all video and audio production except for subtitles created using only AI technology.
This video is a story about how the gods of nature in Greek mythology bring olive oil to the table of mankind. From the appearance of the gods to the Mediterranean olive groves, the production process and the people enjoying the oil, the scenes connect seamlessly, setting a new standard for quality advertising.
Until now, AI-generated videos have been primarily limited to short-form, low-quality content. But Mediterrasa's award-winning Alea commercial shocked the advertising industry by proving that AI can also be competitive in high-quality production.
News of this achievement caused a stir in online communities frequented by video professionals. More than 150 comments were posted in half a day, with a mixture of surprise and concern, including “The impact is huge,'' “The production costs should have been one-tenth the cost,'' “I thought the creative industry would be hit slower than coding and other technical fields, but it's the opposite,'' and “Actors will also be replaced by AI, and only the top models will survive.'' Many expressed concern that the era of AI video production could threaten their livelihoods.
Moonsu Kwon, director of MPLANIT, the agency that produced the gold award-winning commercial, emphasized that “we must accept that the transition to AI is an inevitable reality.”
“While the future of the advertising industry may seem bleak in the face of AI, this change is inevitable. With new and better programs emerging every day, what is important for our generation is our adaptability to AI and the expertise we have honed in this field,” Kwon said.
He further clarified that while AI is a tool for execution, planning and rapid control remains firmly in human hands. “In the Mediterrasa Alea commercial, we used AI to generate the images, but humans did the planning and quick control,” he explained. “In fact, this technology allows us to realize ideas that were previously abandoned due to budget constraints.”
Kwon suggested that the real value lies in expanding creative ideas rather than cutting costs, predicting that the intuition of experienced professionals will become even more important.
“We see this as an expansion of creative possibilities, not just a reduction in production costs. That's why, while we may see a proliferation of inexperienced producers for some time, the intuition of experienced professionals will become more important,” he warned. “At least for now, those with field experience will have an advantage, but given the nature of AI, that advantage may not last forever.”
This article was translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
