Fashion, Filtered: How AI is Rewriting the Rules of Advertising
By Alejandro Pena; Photo Credit: Coca Cola
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, and the fashion advertising is no exception. With approximately 51 percent of marketing leaders already integrating AI into their work, the impact of AI is inevitable.[1] Major brands like Mango have started leveraging AI to create compelling digital campaigns.[2] However, while AI-generated ads offer efficiency and creativity, they also raise important concerns regarding transparency, privacy, and ethics.[3]
AI-generated models and fashion images blur the line between reality and digital manipulation. If brands do not disclose the use of AI, consumers might feel misled, prompting questions about authenticity and whether AI-generated content should be explicitly labeled. Regulatory bodies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the EU’s Digital Services Act may soon require transparency in AI-powered ads to ensure consumer trust.[4]
The implications of AI in fashion advertising on intellectual property (IP) become complex, involving various issues of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and trademark usage. If AI-generated models closely resemble real people, do brands need consent from human models? If AI learns from existing fashion images, does it infringe on IP rights? Courts are already considering whether AI’s use of copyrighted material for training constitutes infringement.[5] Additionally, AI-generated fashion ads raise issues related to personality rights and likeness protections. Laws vary by jurisdiction, but individuals have legal rights over their image and likeness. If an AI-generated model closely mimics the features of a real person, brands will likely face legal challenges for misappropriation of identity or violations of publicity rights.[6] These concerns underscore the need for clear guidelines on using AI-generated content ethically.
AI-driven advertising threatens traditional roles in the fashion industry, including photographers, models, and graphic designers. Companies like Coca-Cola have faced backlash for effectively replacing the role of human creatives by releasing ads that rely on generative AI.[7] While AI can enhance creativity, it also raises concerns about job displacement and potential claims under unfair competition laws.[8] Brands must balance innovation with ethical labor practices to avoid consumer and industry pushback.
Despite these challenges, companies are recognizing the benefits of AI integration. AI reduces production costs by eliminating the need for extensive photoshoots. Brands can generate high-quality images of models wearing their latest designs without hiring photographers, stylists, or locations. Additionally, AI’s ability in predictive analytics further enhances and saves costs by identifying patterns in consumer behavior.[9] This accelerates campaign rollouts and enhances responsiveness to fashion trends.
AI-driven advertising equips marketers with the opportunity to hyper-personalize content tailored to individual consumers.[10] For example, Google applies AI to better discern user intent and deliver an optimally responsive advertisement.[11] By analyzing user preferences, AI can generate fashion ads that resonate with specific demographics, increasing engagement and conversion rates, while also identifying underperforming ads.[12]
As AI continues to evolve in fashion advertising, brands should consider disclosing when AI is used in campaigns to maintain consumer trust. Companies must also ensure AI-generated models do not infringe on individuals’ likeness or IP rights by staying ahead of emerging legal frameworks governing AI in advertising. Rather than replacing human creatives, brands should integrate AI as a tool to enhance human-led design and storytelling, mitigating potential backlash.[13]
As AI is revolutionizing advertising by offering new creative possibilities, the emergence of AI raises critical ethical and legal questions. As brands continue to experiment with AI-generated campaigns and navigate issues of transparency, consent, and industry impact, it will be interesting to monitor how companies adapt to this evolving regulatory landscape.
Alejandro Pena is a 2L at Vanderbilt Law School. He graduated from the University of Miami with a major in political science and a minor in psychology, and plans on working in trademark, copyright, and advertising law upon graduation.
[1] Megan Miller, Say yes to robots: AI in legal marketing, Am. Bar Ass’n (Oct. 2017), https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2017/october-2017/say-yes-to-robots–ai-in-legal-marketing/.
[2] Nota Prensa, Mango creates the first campaign generated by artificial intelligence for its Teen line, Mango (July 10, 2024), https://www.mangofashiongroup.com/en/w/mango-crea-la-primera-campa%C3%B1a-generada-con-inteligencia-artificial-para-su-l%C3%ADnea-teen.
[3] John Villafranco, How AI’s legal risks are challenging marketers, Marketing Dive (June 20, 2023), https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-ai-artificial-intelligence-legal-risks-challenging-marketers/652707/
[4] See AI and the Risk of Consumer Harm, Fed. Trade Comm’n (Jan. 3, 2025), https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2025/01/ai-risk-consumer-harm.
[5] Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd., 744 F.Supp.3d 956, 977 (2024); see also Champion v. Moda Operandi, Inc., 561 F. Supp. 3d 419, 433 (S.D.N.Y. 2021) (The court applied the Rogers test to determine whether the use of models’ photographs in fashion commentary was protected by the First Amendment or constituted a false designation of origin under the Lanham Act).
[6] See Anderson, 744 F.Supp.3d at 973.
[7] Miller, supra note 1; Alex Vadukul, Coca-Cola’s Holiday Ads Trade the ‘Real Thing’ for Generative A.I., N.Y. Times (Nov. 20, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/style/coca-cola-holiday-ads-ai.html.
[8] Tremblay v. OpenAI, Inc., 716 F. Supp. 3d 772, 781 (N.D. Cal. 2024).
[9] Rocco Baldassarre, How AI is Revolutionizing Digital Advertising in 2024, Forbes (Apr. 9, 2024), https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesagencycouncil/2024/04/09/how-ai-is-revolutionizing-digital-advertising-in-2024/.
[10] Id.
[11] U.S. v. Google LLC, 747 F. Supp. 3d 1, 53 (D.D.C. 2024).
[12] Id.
[13] Vadukul, supra note 5.