Artificial intelligence can scale advertising to one message per person, yet it cannot replace human creativity, according to Jordi Urbea, CEO of Ogilvy Spain. He argues AI only processes the past, while creativity builds the future.

Urbea spoke with BeInCrypto at the Ibiza Tech Forum 2026. He deploys AI daily across major brand campaigns. That practitioner’s view adds weight to his claim that emotion and surprise stay human.

AI in Advertising Personalizes at Massive Scale

In an interview with BeInCrypto, Urbea framed his role simply. His job is to take a brand and make it shine. Ogilvy Spain ranks among the country’s largest agencies and belongs to the WPP network.

He is no skeptic of the technology. Instead, he treats AI as a tool that breaks an old production limit. Traditionally, a campaign produced one film, maybe two or three.

“With AI, I have the capacity to create one ad for each person.”

The economics support his enthusiasm. Retailers using AI personalization report 10% to 25% higher return on ad spend, according to Bain & Company. Roughly 65% of senior executives now name AI personalization a primary growth driver.

However, scale alone carries risk. About 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions, while 76% feel frustration when those efforts miss. That gap sets up Urbea’s central argument.

Why AI in Advertising Cannot Touch the Heart

For Urbea, data answers only half the question. AI can map what people did, but not why they will choose one brand tomorrow.

“AI is thousands and thousands of data points and information about people. That’s very important for analyzing what’s possible to make for each one. But to truly touch the heart of a person, you have to discover the real language they’re ready to hear.”

He then drew the line that anchors his entire view.

“AI works with the past, but creativity works with the future. That’s the key point.”

Academic research echoes him almost word for word. A University of California, Berkeley study found generative AI works by remixing the data it was trained on. It recombines history rather than breaking from it.

One 2025 paper goes further. It describes a mathematical ceiling that holds AI to amateur-level creativity. Until a new architecture emerges, the authors argue, humans remain the source of high-level creativity.

That conclusion touches a wider debate about human essence in an automated economy. Urbea places himself firmly on one side.

“I’m completely sure it’s impossible for AI to replace that. 100% sure.”

His confidence has a practical edge. Studies show consumers judge emotional messaging as less authentic once they learn AI wrote it. Engagement falls even when the words stay identical. The limit is about trust, not output quality.

The Rose and the Chocolate Cake

Urbea explained the danger of pure optimization with a domestic story. Feed an algorithm what works, he warned, and it will tell you to repeat it forever.

“Imagine you’re at home with your partner, and every day you give her a rose and a chocolate cake. The algorithm says she likes the rose and the cake, so every day you give her the same thing. I’m completely sure that by day 20, the message you’ll get is: ‘Okay, there’s more to life than roses and chocolate cakes. A little creativity, please. Surprise me.'”

Advertising research validates the parable. Repetitive, low-creativity ads suffer wear-out quickly, especially for less familiar brands. Creative ads, by contrast, wear in fast and resist fatigue across repeated exposure.

The data therefore mirrors his intuition. Optimization without surprise burns out, while creativity is what survives repetition. The same logic shapes how AI now boosts marketing content without owning the idea behind it.

There is one wrinkle worth noting. Newer research suggests ad wear-out can itself fade over time. Repetition is not always fatal, so the parable marks a tendency rather than an absolute law.

Urbea’s warning lands hardest on brands that copy rivals. He believes imitation erases identity faster than any algorithm.

“When everyone repeats the same formula, your brand disappears. You’re a big ship lost in the night.”

His prescription returns to first principles. Effective storytelling needs a distinct voice, not a borrowed formula. AI can supply the volume and the personalization at scale.

The idea, the surprise, and the emotional reach still belong to people. As AI reshapes the workplace, Urbea’s split offers a clear test for marketers. Let the machine handle the past, and keep the future human.

Source: BeInCrypto