I just watched Veo 3 crank out a “perfectly fine” commercial in the time it takes me to find my coffee mug. Two minutes later, Kling 2.1 did the same thing—sparkly lighting, hovering dashboards, suspiciously happy people gathered around a sink.

That used to be my unfair advantage: high-end production value. If you had the budget, you hired a crew like mine, and we made your brand look Fortune 500. Today? A teenager with a laptop can replicate 90 percent of that gloss before homeroom. Production value is officially table stakes.

So what’s left? Entertainment. Real story. A reason to watch that isn’t “we paid for ad space.”

An ad that rewards attention beats one that demands it. Make me laugh, fascinate me, let me in on a surprise. Do anything but recite feature lists over stock footage of circuit boards exploding into city skylines.

Bottom line: same gear, same speed, same price—ideas are the only variable left. Entertain or fade out.

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