When AI Doesn’t Sell Prada: Why AI-Generated Ads Backfire for Luxury Brands

Can AI imagery hurt luxury advertising? In this episode, Rita Ngoc To, Parichehr “Perry” Kianian, Yi-Chia Wu, and Zhe Zhang unpack their Journal of Advertising Research article, “When AI Doesn’t Sell Prada: Why Using AI-Generated Advertisements Backfires for Luxury Brands.” The team walks through three studies that span a real email field test and two lab experiments. The throughline is clear. When a luxury ad discloses AI-generated imagery, people infer low effort, see the ad as less authentic, and respond less favorably. Mainstream brands do not suffer the same hit. The group also shows a practical fix. Use AI to create highly creative visuals. Strong creativity lifts perceived effort and authenticity, which softens the negative impact of disclosure.  Read the full paper here:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2454120Listen to the podcast here:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearchTo keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QNAnd follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QNAnd follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/