{"id":21981,"date":"2026-10-29T13:03:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T13:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=21981"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T16:45:38","slug":"brands-can-no-longer-afford-to-be-vain-they-need-to-be-invaluable","status":"publish","type":"thinking","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/thinking\/2026\/10\/brands-can-no-longer-afford-to-be-vain-they-need-to-be-invaluable","title":{"rendered":"Brands can no longer afford to be vain: they need to be invaluable"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lazyblock-text-full-width-2erjUt wp-block-lazyblock-text-full-width\"><section class=\"fullwidth text-center\" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    \n    \n    <h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Modern societies are built on the promise that every decade will feel like a dramatic growth spurt. But is that the reality?<\/strong><\/h5>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-two-column-text-image-top-aligned-1xovQW wp-block-lazyblock-two-column-text-image-top-aligned\"><section class=\"fullwidth fullwidth--overflow aos-init aos-animate\" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\n    <div class=\"container container--spaced-lg\">\n        <div class=\"row\">\n            <div class=\"col-md-6\">\n                <div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-1by1 img-inline img-offset-left-md\">\n                                        <picture class=\"embed-responsive-item\">\n                        <source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Stefan-Siedentopf-Deputy-Group-CSO-at-VCCP.jpeg 768w\">\n                        <img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Stefan-Siedentopf-Deputy-Group-CSO-at-VCCP.jpeg\" alt=\"Black-and-white headshot of Stefan Siedentopf, Deputy Group CSO at VCCP, looking directly into the camera with a subtle smile.\" class=\"lazyload img-fluid img-1-1\">\n                    <\/picture>\n                                    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"col-md-6\">\n                <p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compared with the post-World War II decades, when advanced economies routinely expanded at 3% to 5% annually, potential real GDP growth across the OECD has slowed, with several major economies tracking closer to 1%. Small percentage drops, big impact. And while cyclical shocks in recent years have played a role, the underlying slowdown is structural. Historically high debt, ageing populations and geopolitical tensions have all contributed to creating the conditions for stagnation. Structural, meaning it&#8217;s here to stay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps the most intriguing contributor to stagnation in modern society is the productivity paradox. A term first inspired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Solow back in the 80s, who stated, \u201cyou can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.\u201d This anomaly is even more profound today. Despite breakthroughs in AI and tech over the past two decades, aggregate <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total Factor Productivity (TFP)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> growth has slowed down in most advanced economies since the mid-2000s. Tech gains are walled inside elite firms rather than diffusing broadly across traditional sectors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n                            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-text-full-width-Z1K9OOe wp-block-lazyblock-text-full-width\"><section class=\"fullwidth text-center\" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    \n    \n    <p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So growth is hard, really hard. Organic tailwinds are gone; businesses must drive their own growth. Brands that understand this, ironically, stand to gain because the majority seemingly don\u2019t. Many have been seduced by vanity. View me, like me, click on me. It\u2019s easier to measure and report performance that way. The most striking example of this is our <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.vccp.com\/hackingtheattentioneconomy-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Hacking the Attention Economy<\/strong><\/a> research<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amplified Intelligence<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which demonstrates that 85% of digital ads get less than 2.5 seconds of attention. 2.5 seconds is below the threshold for driving memory effects.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Showing the discrepancy between what brands <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">think<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they\u2019re paying for in viewable impressions and what the audience is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> taking in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in an era of growth slowdown, brands can no longer afford to be vain; they need to be invaluable. Some sustainably successful brands have survived over centuries rather than business quarters by adapting to change, creating enduring value and measuring what matters. The M&amp;S turnaround, which culminated in a return to the FTSE 100 and multiple years of consecutive growth, is a brilliant example of this. The 142-year-old brand, under the mantra of being &#8220;positively dissatisfied&#8221;, overhauled its corporate culture and rededicated the organisation to delivering \u2018<em>Remarksable Value<\/em><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (product quality and price-lock essentials), rather than constant promotional cycles. The turnaround peaked at a 300% share price uplift &#8211; tripling its valuation. Specsavers is another example of an invaluable brand, one that has transcended the optical and audiology category to become a global brand worth \u00a33.6 billion. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Should\u2019ve gone to Specsavers<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has been used for over twenty years and, behind its iconic humour, is a ruthless dedication to owning the mental real estate of eye and audio care expertise. Turning routine healthcare into an automatic reflex rather than a comparison search.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And therein lies some of the differences between a vain brand and an invaluable brand. The invaluable make substitutes feel inferior; they become a default heuristic, offer indispensable utility, and are measured accordingly. They feast on the vain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand pays for a fleeting impression. <strong>An invaluable brand builds mental real estate.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand promotes clicks. <strong>An invaluable brand is recommended by people.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand drives traffic. <strong>An invaluable brand broadens customer value.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand seeks mentions. <strong>An invaluable brand builds trust.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand reports on cost efficiency. <strong>An invaluable brand reports on profit contribution.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A vain brand delivers channel effects.<strong> An invaluable brand delivers commercial outcomes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building an invaluable brand may also challenge marketers&#8217; mandate in organisations. Beyond managing brand perceptions and the immediate return on media investment, how might the role be more active in provoking and measuring the brand&#8217;s value creation, such as its pricing power and its ability to capitalise on new pools of demand? Think of it as becoming the armoury for the business. An invaluable brand protects base margins during a downturn (the shield) while giving the company the permission and license to enter new high-margin categories (the sword). Consider easyJet, another brand that recently returned to the FTSE100. The once low-cost airline fought off the damaging effects of the pandemic on the travel sector and bounced back, becoming the UK\u2019s fastest-growing travel business by entering the high-margin package holidays category. Driving record profits and reduced reliance on margin-killing discounts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So while a vain brand will often contribute to business complacency, an invaluable brand drives greater business resilience. And amid economic stagnation, growth is reserved exclusively for the invaluable. <\/span><\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":77,"template":"","categories":[209,211],"class_list":["post-21981","thinking","type-thinking","status-publish","hentry","category-thinking","category-views"],"acf":{"hero_video":"","hero_image":{"ID":21984,"id":21984,"title":"medievil knight armour","filename":"medievil-knight-armour.png","filesize":2064991,"url":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour.png","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/thinking\/2026\/10\/brands-can-no-longer-afford-to-be-vain-they-need-to-be-invaluable\/attachment\/medievil-knight-armour-2","alt":"","author":"77","description":"","caption":"","name":"medievil-knight-armour-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21981,"date":"2026-10-29 11:35:42","modified":"2026-10-29 11:36:06","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-300x113.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":113,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-768x288.png","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-1024x384.png","large-width":640,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-1536x576.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":576,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":720,"Header":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour.png","Header-width":1920,"Header-height":720,"Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour-720x720.png","Square-width":720,"Square-height":720}},"meta-title":"Brands can no longer afford to be vain: they need to be invaluable.  ","meta-description":"Fleeting clicks won\u2019t drive commercial growth. Learn why brands must trade vanity for real human trust and mental real estate to thrive in a slowing economy.","social-media-image":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medievil-knight-armour.png","related_content_title":"You may also like","relateditems":[{"relateditem":{"ID":21702,"post_author":"77","post_date":"2026-08-17 17:23:39","post_date_gmt":"2026-08-17 16:23:39","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cdiv style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003e\\u003cem\\u003eIn his latest Campaign column, Founding Partner and Chairman Charles Vallance challenges the industry's \\u0022social first\\u0022 mindset, arguing that the strongest brands are built through a channel-agnostic approach that prioritises\\u003c\/em\\u003e a wider brand world.\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv\\u003e\u00a0\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv\\u003e\u00a0\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt was always social first.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt used to be called word of mouth. Then it was called talkability. Then virality. Now it's called social.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt's all the same thing, so the above distinctions are largely academic. The strongest brands have always been those that are front of mind. Talked about. Socially relevant. There, on the tip of the tongue, when you need to recall them.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eHowever, there's a piece of terminology which has become increasingly prevalent, and which implies there should be a hierarchy to the formerly egalitarian principle that social relevance and currency are the goal of all marketing, whatever the channel.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe term is 'social first'. If this was meant agnostically, then it would be a truism (see my first sentence). But it isn't meant agnostically. It is meant territorially.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eWhen a brief asks for a campaign that's 'social first', it doesn't mean 'let's first and foremost get talked about'. It means that one media channel should be preferred above all others. That social platforms should be prioritised if your brand is going to be talked about.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eSometimes this is right. Just as a point of sale first brief, or a rewards first brief, or a sponsorship first brief is sometimes right.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eBut I worry when it starts to become an orthodoxy. When it starts to be a received wisdom that success depends on being social media first.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eBecause success is seldom social media first. When you think of famous, socially relevant brands, very few of them are social first in the narrow sense described above.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThis is because social media success so often hinges on first making an impact within the wider social and cultural context. The 'Made to Share' campaign for Cadbury was a huge social hit, but it was a packaging first brief, with the goal of social amplification rather than using social first.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eOne of the biggest branded landmarks in the country, The O2, is a permanent part of the cultural conversation. But it was a partnership first brief. Not a social first brief.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003ePart of the reasoning behind the social first mantra, is the idea that modern brands are built through social media rather than traditional media.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAgain, I dispute this logic. They are built from a blend. And if anything, their mental availability is driven by traditional media first.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eTake Fenty. It's often cited as a social first brand. But Rihanna had done quite well dominating traditional media channels before she launched her brand. Without this fame to harness, would Fenty be Fenty? You could ask the same question about Skims.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eOf course there are exceptions, Glossier being one. Prime another (although I see it around less than I used to).\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eHowever, in the vast majority of cases, success depends on the agnostic choreography of all media channels available, whether owned, earned, social\/shared or paid for. Social, like AI, is just another servant to the bigger cause of brand building.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAt VCCP Social Club (our specialist social capability), we believe 'social is the sun'. It is the new word of mouth, helping your brand radiate and illuminate your message. At the same time, it's only part of the cosmos, not the whole thing.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThat's because we believe no single channel should automatically take precedence.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIn our view, the only thing that automatically comes first is your Brand World. This is the sum total of every impression your brand makes across every touchpoint. It is the compound advantage of truly coherent branding. The difference between fragmentation and cut through, between the dilution or concentration of resource.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIn the constant battle to find the right media mix, we should avoid leaping to conclusions about what comes first, second or third.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe greatest brands are a complex and evolving mass of media impressions. Glimpsed online, on a shelf, at an event, on a phone screen, or in an app (and sometimes, still, on a poster or a TV).\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eManaging this mix only gets harder as the list grows longer. But the first rule is to avoid ruling which comes first.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"ZtpEdM\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-ZtpEdM\"} \/-->","post_title":"Let's Avoid A Social Hierarchy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"lets-avoid-a-social-hierarchy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-08-17 17:23:40","post_modified_gmt":"2026-08-17 16:23:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=21702","menu_order":0,"post_type":"thinking","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}},{"relateditem":{"ID":21930,"post_author":"77","post_date":"2026-10-09 17:45:26","post_date_gmt":"2026-10-09 16:45:26","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/two-column-text-image-top-aligned {\"image-768x768\":\"%7B%22alt%22:%22%22,%22title%22:%22lia-judging%22,%22caption%22:%22%22,%22description%22:%7B%22raw%22:%22%22,%22rendered%22:%22%3Cp%20class=%5C%22attachment%5C%22%3E%3Ca%20href='https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging.jpg'%3E%3Cimg%20loading=%5C%22lazy%5C%22%20decoding=%5C%22async%5C%22%20width=%5C%22240%5C%22%20height=%5C%22300%5C%22%20src=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging-240x300.jpg%5C%22%20class=%5C%22attachment-medium%20size-medium%5C%22%20alt=%5C%22%5C%22%20srcset=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging-240x300.jpg%20240w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging-819x1024.jpg%20819w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging-768x960.jpg%20768w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging.jpg%201080w%5C%22%20sizes=%5C%22auto,%20(max-width:%20240px)%20100vw,%20240px%5C%22%20\/%3E%3C\/a%3E%3C\/p%3E%5Cn%22%7D,%22id%22:21931,%22link%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?attachment_id=21931%22,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging.jpg%22,%22sizes%22:%22%22%7D\",\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eJudging Online Film, TV \\u0026amp; Cinema at the London International Awards (LIA) in Las Vegas felt a bit like gambling. You study the table, weigh the odds, trust your instincts and decide which ideas are worth betting on. Sometimes you back a winner. Other times you're left wondering what on earth everyone was thinking.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThere was no shortage of work fishing for a reaction. Films that were designed to make people gag, mums in tears, celebrities having a go at acting, and enough ad clich\u00e9s to cover every emotional tug you can think of. But after four days of judging, a few things stuck with me.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eBig budgets and famous faces don't make an idea great. Great ideas do. Same goes for incredible cinematography, slick production and an emotional soundtrack. Execution and craft matters, but if there's no strong idea underneath, even the most polished film is just an expensive way of saying very little. The best stuff usually starts with a universal human truth we all recognise, whether it's funny, sad or just painfully familiar.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"QUUT2\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-two-column-text-image-top-aligned-QUUT2\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eHere are the chips I'm taking away from the table:\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003e1. Great work\u00a0 connects before it tries to impress.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eThe strongest work opened with something recognisable, like an awkward family dinner or a small lie everyone tells, allowing you to resonate within seconds. Only then did the craft or the twist do its job. Impress them after you\u2019ve connected, not instead of it.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003e2. Great work\u00a0 knows when to surprise, when to hold back, and when to let the audience work it out themselves.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eGreat films have rhythm. Not every beat needs a twist, and not every emotion needs explaining. The stand outs left a gap and trusted us to fill it, and that small moment of figuring it out is why they stuck.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003e3. Great work\u00a0 doesn\u2019t overbrand or overcomplicate things, and it doesn\u2019t confuse being conceptual with being clever. Most importantly, it respects people\u2019s attention.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eA logo in every frame kills the feeling you\u2019ve just built, and a film that needs a paragraph of explanation has already lost the room. Layered ideas only work if the first layer is satisfying on its own. \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"ZxoKIB\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-ZxoKIB\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/two-column-images {\"items\":\"%5B%7B%22image-768x768%22:%7B%22alt%22:%22%22,%22title%22:%221791332956696%22,%22caption%22:%22%22,%22description%22:%7B%22raw%22:%22%22,%22rendered%22:%22%3Cp%20class=%5C%22attachment%5C%22%3E%3Ca%20href='https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696.jpg'%3E%3Cimg%20loading=%5C%22lazy%5C%22%20decoding=%5C%22async%5C%22%20width=%5C%22300%5C%22%20height=%5C%22200%5C%22%20src=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696-300x200.jpg%5C%22%20class=%5C%22attachment-medium%20size-medium%5C%22%20alt=%5C%22%5C%22%20srcset=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696-300x200.jpg%20300w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696-768x512.jpg%20768w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696.jpg%201000w%5C%22%20sizes=%5C%22auto,%20(max-width:%20300px)%20100vw,%20300px%5C%22%20\/%3E%3C\/a%3E%3C\/p%3E%5Cn%22%7D,%22id%22:21935,%22link%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?attachment_id=21935%22,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791332956696.jpg%22,%22sizes%22:%22%22%7D%7D,%7B%22image-768x768%22:%7B%22alt%22:%22%22,%22title%22:%221791204558476%22,%22caption%22:%22%22,%22description%22:%7B%22raw%22:%22%22,%22rendered%22:%22%3Cp%20class=%5C%22attachment%5C%22%3E%3Ca%20href='https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476.jpg'%3E%3Cimg%20loading=%5C%22lazy%5C%22%20decoding=%5C%22async%5C%22%20width=%5C%22300%5C%22%20height=%5C%22200%5C%22%20src=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476-300x200.jpg%5C%22%20class=%5C%22attachment-medium%20size-medium%5C%22%20alt=%5C%22%5C%22%20srcset=%5C%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476-300x200.jpg%20300w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476-1024x683.jpg%201024w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476-768x512.jpg%20768w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476-1536x1025.jpg%201536w,%20https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476.jpg%202048w%5C%22%20sizes=%5C%22auto,%20(max-width:%20300px)%20100vw,%20300px%5C%22%20\/%3E%3C\/a%3E%3C\/p%3E%5Cn%22%7D,%22id%22:21936,%22link%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?attachment_id=21936%22,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204558476.jpg%22,%22sizes%22:%22%22%7D%7D%5D\",\"blockId\":\"Z7YeVh\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-two-column-images-Z7YeVh\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003e4. Every second has to earn its place.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eBy the hundredth film, nobody is feeling generous. This isn\u2019t an argument for everything being short, but for everything being necessary. Cut the extra establishing shot, the redundant line, because nobody owes your three-minute masterpiece three minutes of patience.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003e5. AI doesn\u2019t change the basics.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003e\u201cMade with AI\u201d is no more an idea than \u201cshot in 4K\u201d ever was. Much of the AI in the room was there because it could be, while the best uses served a strong idea. Using something new isn\u2019t the same as doing something new, and a great concept will outshine the tool it was made with.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 300;\\u0022\\u003eAt the end of the day, judging isn't about backing the loudest film, the biggest celebrity or the flashiest production. It's about spotting the ideas that are still standing once the noise dies down. The best bets are the ones you can still defend when the jury starts debating.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"jMKuo\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-jMKuo\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":21938,\"width\":\"762px\",\"height\":\"auto\",\"aspectRatio\":\"1.7778034987929494\",\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\",\"align\":\"center\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lia-judging-01-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21938\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7778034987929494;width:762px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->","post_title":"Gambling on Great Ideas at LIA Las Vegas","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"gambling-on-great-ideas-at-lia-las-vegas","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-10-09 18:00:35","post_modified_gmt":"2026-10-09 17:00:35","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=21930","menu_order":0,"post_type":"thinking","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}},{"relateditem":{"ID":21774,"post_author":"77","post_date":"2026-09-15 15:51:47","post_date_gmt":"2026-09-15 14:51:47","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/two-column-text-image-top-aligned {\"image-768x768\":\"%7B%22alt%22:%22%22,%22title%22:%22Peter%20Gasston%20-%20avatar%22,%22caption%22:%22%22,%22description%22:%22%22,%22id%22:21778,%22link%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?attachment_id=21778%22,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Peter-Gasston-avatar.jpg%22,%22sizes%22:%7B%22thumbnail%22:%7B%22height%22:150,%22width%22:150,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Peter-Gasston-avatar-150x150.jpg%22,%22orientation%22:%22landscape%22%7D,%22medium%22:%7B%22height%22:300,%22width%22:300,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Peter-Gasston-avatar-300x300.jpg%22,%22orientation%22:%22landscape%22%7D,%22large%22:%7B%22height%22:640,%22width%22:640,%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Peter-Gasston-avatar-1024x1024.jpg%22,%22orientation%22:%22landscape%22%7D,%22full%22:%7B%22url%22:%22https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Peter-Gasston-avatar.jpg%22,%22height%22:1200,%22width%22:1200,%22orientation%22:%22landscape%22%7D%7D%7D\",\"text\":\"\\u003ch5 style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eThe evolution of AI video, a mundane challenge, and why the future belongs to \u201cWorld Models\u201d.\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/h5\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cbr \/\\u003eWe launched our creative studio, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003efaith\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e, in the very earliest days of generative AI video, and we've watched the technology evolve alongside us, from short low-res clips of eerily morphing characters to multi-scene HD clips of Hollywood-level action.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eBut as the barrier to creation drops, the bar of quality is raised higher; and even with the increased sophistication and seemingly infinite possibilities of today\u2019s synthetic videos there are still limits to be found. And often these limits aren\u2019t the high-end action and emotion required for broadcast-quality production, but something as simple and mundane as brushing your teeth.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"1xovQW\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-two-column-text-image-top-aligned-1xovQW\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003ePrimitive Pioneers (2023)\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe first commercial text-to-video model was Runway\u2019s Gen-2, announced in March 2023 and released in June. By today\u2019s standards, its capabilities were modest, to say the least: it could generate four-second clips, with a small amount of (slow) motion. It wasn't perfect\u2014far from it\u2014but people immediately started using it to tell stories. They\u2019d edit the clips together in interesting ways, choosing to either embrace or ignore the (many) flaws.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAlready at that early stage, you could see a clear pattern emerging: people with deep experience in traditional filmmaking and video storytelling were getting the best results out of what was otherwise a very basic model.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eA few other models, such as Pika and Stable Video, followed in late 2023. These offered modest upgrades, perhaps the most notable of which was the image-to-video capability, which gave creators a much-needed anchor of control. Even so, AI video wasn\u2019t close to being ready for commercial use.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eSora and the Second Wave (2024)\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIn early 2024, OpenAI announced Sora. It promised to shake up everything we knew about video models, showing off sprawling, realistic minute-long generations.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe announcement came just as we\u2019d started making our short film, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003efinding faith\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e, to celebrate our first birthday. In retrospect, we were incredibly early to the game. Creating the film to the standards we\u2019d set was a battle; one key scene alone involved hacking together motion tracking, 3D modelling, image and video generation, and a lot of painstaking post-production.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eWe thought that the release of the Sora would mean we'd have to scrap all the work we'd done and start again. But OpenAI chose not to release it until the end of the year.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eWhile we were waiting, we got a second wave of models during the summer and autumn of 2024. This included Luma's Dream Machine, Runway Gen-3, and the popular Chinese models, Hailuo and Kling. These systems brought better detail, improved motion, higher resolution, and longer clips.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt was around this time that I started experimenting with my own personal short films as a way of better understanding the capabilities of these new models. I was always more interested in how these networks handled subtle human motion and emotion than I was in big, explosive action sequences.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eThe Ultimate Benchmark: A Believable Clean\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThere was one thing that, no matter how hard I tried, none of the available models at the time could get right: a believable clip of a woman brushing her teeth.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"ZPrLCf\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-ZPrLCf\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":21779,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\",\"align\":\"center\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/google-docs-image-ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21779\"\/><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt sounds simple. Yet, in my early short films, I had to actively hide or cut around this action to hide the digital hallucinations. Eventually, I realised this mundane human activity made for a perfect benchmark of progress; so I resolved that with the release of every new video model, I\u2019d try the test again.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAnd with every subsequent model release, the test failed again. Sometimes in weird ways, sometimes in hilarious ways, sometimes in disturbing ways. But it always failed.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003ePhotorealism, Speech, and the Breakout (2025)\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThroughout 2025 the next generation of video models, such as Hailuo 2 and Wan, brought higher detail, improved motion, precise camera control, and believable near-photorealism. None of them could pass my test.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"1J74QF\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-1J74QF\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":21777,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\",\"align\":\"center\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/google-docs-image1-ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21777\"\/><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eGoogle's Veo 3.0 was the first video model to natively generate synchronized sound and speech. This was a true breakout moment for AI video, notably manifested in the highly talked-about Kalshi advertisement played on US TV during the NBA finals.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eBut even on Veo 3.0, my toothbrushing test failed. We could do so much, but some things stayed out of reach. This was hard to explain to clients who\u2019d only ever seen the finished results, not the work in progress.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAt the end of 2025, we started getting even more powerful and capable models. With the right prompting, you could get them to look incredibly, believably \\u0022real.\\u0022 But they still couldn't depict a believable tooth brushing. Each new model got closer and closer, but they just couldn't get there.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eThe Benchmark is Passed (2026)\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eCome early 2026, a new wave of video models arrived, starting with Kling 3, and then the big one: the current best-in-class, Seedance 2.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eAnd what had seemed impossible, happened. \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003eMy toothbrushing test was passed.\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e Not flawlessly, not perfectly consistently, but enough to be more than a fluke.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"9b6aK\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-9b6aK\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":21780,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\",\"align\":\"center\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2608Wan3.0-ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21780\"\/><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eIt's incredible to look back at how far we've come in just three years; from the flickering, low-motion and unstable four-second clips of Runway Gen-2 to the jaw-dropping realism and long multi-scene sequences of Seedance 2.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe latest models can generate longer, highly coherent clips at up to 4K quality, complete with native sound, flawless lip-syncing, and precise editing capabilities. New tools make the act of creation more controllable and straightforward.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThat incredibly complex scene we worked so hard to execute in our first film, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003efinding faith\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e we can now make in a fraction of the time, using just a single reference image and Seedance 2. What once took weeks, now takes days; what took days, now takes hours. This is going to be made even more efficient by adopting increasingly capable agentic workflows.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eThe Elevation of Craft\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThis rapid evolution has democratised production. AI video now enables smaller brands to punch far above their weight, allowing them to produce ads that would once have been beyond the reach of their production budgets.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eBut as the barrier to creation is lowered, the importance of craft is elevated.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eSome of the more obvious technical \\u0022tells\\u0022 of AI video\u2014the flickering, the morphing, the floating objects\u2014have largely disappeared. But this puts more scrutiny on the actual artistic performance.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003ePerhaps I'm speaking with the curse of knowledge, but when looking at recent high-profile campaigns I can see that \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eSecret Escapes\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e, for example, looks clearly AI-generated \u2014 the smoothness and symmetry are giveaways \u2014 while with this \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eOMHU\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e ad it\u2019s much harder (if not impossible) to say the same.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThe difference isn't the software; it's craft and discernment. With an abundance of visual options now available, the creative question of \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003ewhy\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e you picked a specific artistic solution becomes more important than ever.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eThe Next Frontier: World Models\\u003c\/strong\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eNo matter how good these generative models get, there are always more edge cases waiting to be found. My toothbrushing test may have been passed, but these are a few new examples I\u2019ve come across:\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cul style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cli style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022 aria-level=\\u00221\\u0022\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eA man counts from one to five on his fingers.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003c\/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022 aria-level=\\u00221\\u0022\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eOne person kicks another, causing them to fly backwards and hit a wall.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003c\/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022 aria-level=\\u00221\\u0022\\u003e\\u003ci\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eA falling wine glass spills red wine onto a rug, then smashes.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/i\\u003e\\u003c\/li\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/ul\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThese scenarios are easy enough for even a child to comprehend, but current video models struggle immensely with them. This is because today's models are fundamentally \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003evisual mimics\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e. They don't actually understand cause and effect; they don't understand complex, chronological sequences of events, and they don't understand the physical rules of gravity, momentum, and impact.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eEnter the future of video: \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003eWorld Models\\u003c\/b\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003e, like DeepMind's Genie 3.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eThese models are being trained on vast, multimodal datasets so they can begin to understand the physical rules of our world\u2014its geometry, physical relationships, and complex interactions.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400;\\u0022\\u003eWe're still in the absolute infancy of this transition. And when they finally mature, I'm sure we'll find a whole new set of limitations to work around. But as creators, we should welcome that. After all, it's limitations that provoke true innovation.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"Z1YLzNT\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-Z1YLzNT\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/custom-php {\"code\":\"\\u003cstyle\\u003e\\nh1.title {\\ntext-transform: none;\\n}\\n\\u003c\/style\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"Z64Usv\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-custom-php-Z64Usv\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"faith And The Toothbrushing Test","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"faith-and-the-toothbrushing-test","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-09-17 11:58:33","post_modified_gmt":"2026-09-17 10:58:33","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=21774","menu_order":0,"post_type":"thinking","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}}],"hide_related_items":[],"visible_on_home_page":["1"],"thinking_id":"211","author":{"ID":21979,"post_author":"77","post_date":"2026-10-29 11:23:47","post_date_gmt":"2026-10-29 11:23:47","post_content":"","post_title":"Stefan Siedentopf","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"stefan-siedentopf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-10-29 11:23:47","post_modified_gmt":"2026-10-29 11:23:47","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/?post_type=people&#038;p=21979","menu_order":0,"post_type":"people","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"websites_to_publish":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thinking\/21981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thinking"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/thinking"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}