Overview
- Valentino posted Instagram reels labeled as AI and presented as a digital creative project, featuring surreal collages where models morph and the brand logo turns into arms.
- Followers condemned the imagery as cheap, tacky, lazy and embarrassing, saying a couture house should showcase human creativity rather than synthetic visuals.
- Despite the initial outcry, the brand released a second AI ad for the DeVain bag, drawing further complaints, and a spokesperson declined to comment.
- Getty Images executive Rebecca Swift said the reaction reflects research that consumers rate AI-made brand images as less valuable than human-made work.
- Industry commentators tied the episode to broader concerns including H&M’s digital twins, an AI Guess ad in Vogue, and reports of AI-driven ad scams on social platforms highlighted by Santander data.