AI/SI Is Cool, Just Be Careful How You Use It
By Matt Sager, Founder and Creative Director, Ferric and Flame Creative
AI/SI is cool. I use it. It can rough out an idea in an afternoon, build a reference frame in seconds, and help a small studio move like a bigger one.
But there's a question that doesn't come up often enough in this business: who's on the hook when something goes wrong?
Faster and cheaper has a catch
A lot of shops are leaning on AI to cut costs and move faster. That speed can come with risk: music you don't fully own, footage nobody can stand behind, faces that look a little too real.
When a spot runs with your company name on it, that risk doesn't belong to the software. It belongs to you.
The music you don't quite own
Take AI music. On Suno's paid plans, you get commercial rights to the songs you download. That's real, and it's useful. But Suno's own terms say it can't promise any copyright will vest in what it generates. Translation: you can use the track, but you may not be able to stop anyone else from using something just like it, and you're standing on thinner ground if a question ever comes up.
Compare that to licensed stock. When we license footage or music from Adobe Stock, the license comes with the asset. There's a paper trail, a clear set of rights, and a company that stands behind it.
The face that looks a little too familiar
Then there are AI people. Generate a "friendly technician" and you might get someone who looks an awful lot like a real person. Maybe a local news anchor. Maybe a guy across town who doesn't appreciate seeing his face selling furnaces. That's not a creative problem. That's a legal one.
It's the same reason we recommend hired talent over a client's own techs. People move on, sometimes to a competitor, sometimes somewhere worse. If a client wants their own crew on camera, we'll make it work. But our recommendation is hired talent, with real products, real trucks, and real homes, so the spot stays yours and stays on the air.
Where we draw the line
We use AI when it's the right tool, sometimes for a whole spot. What doesn't change is how we protect the client:
Every asset that airs is either licensed or made by us, with a clear paper trail.
No AI faces that could pass for a real person. When a spot needs people, we recommend hired talent.
Music is licensed or cleared, never a track nobody can vouch for.
For dealers running manufacturer co-op funds, this matters even more. Co-op programs have rules about how the brand is shown, and the last thing you want is a reimbursement question or a legal letter over an asset nobody can trace.
Better work, less liability
Remember the car and the road? A great car still needs a clean title. You don't want to find out after the spot airs that part of it was never really yours.
If you're thinking about AI for your next campaign and want to do it without opening the door to a lawsuit, we'd be glad to talk. Ferric and Flame Creative is based in Florida, serving clients nationwide.
Creative, forged with soul.
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