Former MullenLowe US CEO Frank Cartagena launched OK Future with a simple test: could a four-person agency use generative AI to deliver work that usually demands a much larger production apparatus? The answer arrived in four days with the agency’s first campaign for personal-care brand Goodwipes.
The spot, titled “Meet Asstra,” spoofed OpenAI’s commercial for its Astra AI model. Goodwipes and OK Future handled the script, character building, storyboarding and edits, while generative AI tools such as ArtCraft, Seedance and OpenAI’s Astra were used to visualise characters, generate voices and create locations and other visual elements.
A six-week job in four days
Cartagena says a minute-long produced commercial normally takes about six weeks. The team compressed that into four days partly to stay inside the cultural window of OpenAI’s own Astra spot. The result avoided a projected $700,000 production cost and became a proof of concept for OK Future, whose prospects include Liquid Death.
“I really wouldn’t recommend that this be the norm of a project. It’s just an unsustainable pace,” Cartagena told Digiday. He described the process as “a total pressure cooker.”
The work took a toll: the team worked in shifts around the clock on little sleep, and at one point a member threatened to leave at 2 a.m., only to rejoin by 7 a.m. Cartagena said he was uncertain until late whether the spot would land on time or be well received.
What the campaign produced
- More than 750,000 Reddit views in the first 48 hours.
- Nearly 1.5 million views across subreddits since launch.
- More than 800 shares, according to a Goodwipes spokesperson.
- A projected $700,000 production cost avoided by using AI.
Why it matters for marketers
The Goodwipes experiment is one data point in a wider shift. At least 73% of marketers already use generative AI for visual, image or video production, according to a May survey from WARC and TikTok cited by eMarketer. Gartner projects AI software spending will rise from $143 billion in 2024 to $981 billion in 2029.
Goodwipes SVP of marketing Meredith Diehn, who has worked with Cartagena on and off for 20 years, said the decision came down to confidence: “It’s not just about speed. It’s about trust, and I have a lot of trust in Frank.” The brand is still sorting through legal approvals and internal comfort levels for AI use.
Cartagena acknowledges the irony of a career creative leaning on AI. His positioning is that OK Future remains an ideas agency first, with AI as the backbone to reach those ideas faster.
Source: Digiday
