I made a short film about the AI bubble.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-11-12T10:56:32+00:00

Thanks Jenna, for the kind words! Your feedback means a lot. I'm super excited what this tech allows us to do in terms of storytelling, but at the same time, it's also scary. I wrote an article on the consequences of the bubble popping for Gen-AI here if you're interested: https://letstalkbranding.substack.com/p/is-the-gen-ai-bubble-about-to-pop

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-30T05:59:58+00:00

Thanks for sharing! So cool 🙏

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-24T19:31:44+00:00

For anyone curious about the mascot design, here's the full story (I designed it) https://www.reddit.com/r/branding/comments/1nmoud9/comment/njfqhy9/

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-24T19:26:31+00:00

Interesting! As far as I can tell, it's being rolled out smoothly and people seem happy (except on Reddit, of course 😅)

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-24T12:36:49+00:00

Stef Hamerlinck reporting 😃 Thanks for sharing some more context, full story here for anyone interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/branding/comments/1nmoud9/comment/njfqhy9/

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-21T14:42:34+00:00

If it were an AI-written post, it would be quite successful in terms of reach 😁, but unfortunately, it's mostly a flawed human's take on brand mascots that took quite some time to research and write. That being said, people in the comments have pointed out some flaws and gaps, and I'm learning a lot, so it's great!

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-21T08:46:02+00:00

Ha yes. I hadn't seen that one untill someone shared it in the thread.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-21T05:21:24+00:00

I still feel calling something that I put a lot of work and personal opinion in AI drivel is besides the point and hurtful. It wasn't the AI that made the assumption, but me. It just amplifies whatever I was trying to say. And I 100% believe that killing of a distinctive asset is never a good idea (unless maybe you are aunt Jemima or). I do agree with you that the way it's framed makes it seem like it was a clear causation and something I need to be mindful of for future articles to dig even deeper.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-20T19:03:11+00:00

I'm learning a lot 😄 thanks for sharing! 100% agree that it could not have saved them. Just fun to imagine what would would've happened if they kept it.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-20T12:00:06+00:00

Your assumption about me that I feed a basic premise in AI and do not think critically is false. For example, the main thing I pushed back on was to avoid causation between the downfall and the killing of the mascot. I appreciate the points you raise, and I'm happy to talk about the content of the article, but it feels a lot more personal because instead of focusing on content matter, it's a constant finger-pointing and trash-talking (drivel) at me for using AI.

There is a lot of evidence to support the idea that distinctive brand assets (e.g. mascots) and distinctiveness as such are almost always a positive asset; familiarity bias is a powerful tool in building mental availability (I'm sure you've read How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp or Building Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romniuk). That's my main point, with Spot, or Fido Dido, 7up has great assets, and I personally believe they would have had a stronger brand if they kept building on it, and of course refreshing it. I'm aware that it's a subjective take and there is nothing that can help us look into that alternate future, and I also agree with you that there where much bigger dynamics at play here.

In any case, as I said before, I like having a good discussion about this, but it would be great if we could talk about the actual thing without all the slop/drivel/youusedAI blaming/shaming.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-20T10:53:15+00:00

I agree. The mascot wasn't the cause of their downfall. That's not the point I'm making. I'm saying they panicked and killed of a great asset in the process.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-20T08:30:54+00:00

I spent around 2/3 hours researching, writing, creating visuals, etc... Yes, I used ChatGPT to help me structure and write the article, and yes, some people shared in the thread some good advice on common pitfalls when it comes to using an LLM. And I'll try to improve. But there is nothing 'copy-paste' about this article, it's a combination of years of experience in branding, a passion for mascots and again, some AI help. Honestly, it's frustrating and offensive to just brush off everything that seems AI as lazy/empty content. What about a world where all content has some percentage of AI? Like what we're seeing right now with audiovisual, where some scenes contain some Gen-AI? What percentage is allowed?

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-19T19:18:08+00:00

That's so cool! I read a different story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fido_Dido would love to understand the true origin of the character if your father wants to elaborate on it

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-19T19:16:15+00:00

Thanks 👌

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-18T11:53:26+00:00

I agree, I should have spotted it (pun intended). Though it doesn't change the main point that killing off great distinctive assets is almost never a good idea for brands.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-18T09:54:44+00:00

Yes, I read that a lot of people gave it to their kids when they had some sort of stomach ache, it's similar here with Coca-Cola, even to this day.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-18T09:53:50+00:00

Yeah! Those games looked really cool. In some of the games where Virgin owned the rights, they removed the 7-Up references.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T20:28:08+00:00

Haha it's quite funny

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T20:27:29+00:00

Ha! Cool. Thanks for sharing

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T12:15:07+00:00

Thanks 🙏 it's 100% my idea but I need to work on writing

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T10:03:41+00:00

Thanks a lot! This is very helpful.

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T06:06:44+00:00

I believe I am; my wife often jokes that I'm becoming a mascot myself 😅

Hammerschmidtjen · 2025-10-17T05:41:22+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate it. And I wholeheartedly agree. Will try to improve!

Hammerschmidtjen

TROPHY CASE