In 2025, generative AI was no longer a nice-to-have for brands; it became an essential tool in their business and marketing infrastructure.
Some folded the tech into their adtech and media stacks, while others used it as a creative engine, leaning on it to breathe new life into old campaigns. One company even rode the AI marketing momentum all the way to a blockbuster IPO. Several signed deals with major players, including OpenAI.
Along the way, these companies were forced to confront uncomfortable questions about the human cost of going all-in on automation. Many responded with familiar reassurances: that the tools would transform the work humans do, not eliminate it.
From Coca-Cola to Klarna, ADWEEK reflects on seven brands that turned AI innovation into tangible results in 2025.
Unilever’s AI twins cut costs
In March, Unilever’s (soon to depart) chief growth and marketing officer Esi Eggleston Bracey revealed that the company was integrating AI in its product shoots, saving time and money in the process. The CPG giant has been experimenting with NVIDIA’s Omniverse tech on brands including Dove, Vaseline, and TRESemmé.
The tool lets Unilever produce “digital twins,” or digital replicas of its products. Each digital twin contains all of the product’s variants, labels, packaging, and language formats within a single file.
It also allows the company to quickly insert AI-generated product images into messaging on TV and e-commerce, removing duplication to make the image production process twice as fast and half as expensive.
After a few months of experimentation, Unilever said at the end of Q1 that the tech had reduced content creation costs for TRESemmé Thailand by 87%, while generating content twice as fast and increasing purchase intent by 5%.
Across the board, Unilever is using more than 500 AI applications across its business, part of its Growth Action Plan 2030, designed to drive growth across its “superior brands” like Dove, Vaseline, Axe, and Hellmann’s. – Rebecca Stewart
