AI can’t replace human creativity in advertising –ARCON

The Director General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, has said artificial intelligence (AI) will transform Nigeria’s advertising industry but will not completely replace creative agencies and human creativity that drives them.

Fadolapo stated this at the 2026 edition of the Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) annual conference in Lagos, themed: “Advertising in Nigeria and AI: Who Needs Creative Agencies Anyways?”

According to him, the advertising industry has undergone several major transformations over the years, yet creative agencies have continued to adapt and remain relevant.

He said the emergence of AI should therefore be viewed as another phase of transformation, rather than the destruction of the creative agency business.“AI is not a challenge alone. It is how we are able to manage it,” he stated, stressing that the industry must learn to embrace the technology while preserving the human elements that make advertising effective and relatable.

Fadolapo said although AI could generate campaign ideas, images, voices and other creative assets within seconds, there are aspects of creativity that technology would not completely be able to replicate.He identified human insight, creativity and originality as critical elements that would continue to distinguish professional advertising from machine-generated content.

The ARCON boss, however, warned that the growing use of AI-generated images and voices was creating new regulatory and ethical concerns that could not be ignored. He asked who should be held responsible when a person’s image or voice is manipulated and used in an advertisement without the individual’s knowledge or consent.

According to him, the situation becomes more complicated when such content is published on digital or other media platforms, potentially creating the impression that the person is endorsing the product, service or message.He therefore called for a robust regulatory framework to guide the deployment of AI in advertising and prevent the technology from operating without adequate safeguards.

“You can’t put AI on a free move,” he said, insisting that responsible regulation must accompany technological innovation.Earlier, he commended BJAN for providing a platform for dialogue, learning and collaboration among journalists, advertising professionals, brands and other stakeholders, urging brand journalists to maintain accuracy, professionalism, credibility and responsible communication as advertising, journalism, public relations and technology increasingly converge.

Fadolapo also noted that the business model of advertising had continuously evolved, with functions that were previously concentrated within traditional agencies gradually becoming specialised into independent areas such as media, public relations, activation and other forms of communication.

He said AI would further accelerate this evolution and force advertising practitioners to reconsider how agencies create value for brands and consumers while urging industry stakeholders to focus on how AI could improve efficiency, strengthen data-driven decision-making and enhance the quality of advertising campaigns without undermining professional and ethical standards.According to Fadolapo, the future of advertising should not be presented as a contest between humans and machines but as a partnership in which technology supports human imagination and strategic thinking.

As far as he is concerned, responsible adoption of AI could help Nigeria’s creative economy become more competitive, generate employment and contribute significantly to economic growth.

The conference brought together advertising practitioners, brand journalists, government representatives, media professionals and other stakeholders to examine the impact of AI on Nigeria’s advertising and brand communication ecosystem.

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