Etsy responds to concerns about AI and mass production with new brand mission statement

Brief description of the dive:

• Etsy has launched an ad campaign to highlight its sellers, according to a blog post. The campaign is part of a new “brand mission” that addresses the rise of automation and mass production as threats to the handmade crafts its e-commerce platform is built on.
• TV ads, social media videos, and billboards feature real Etsy sellers. The debut spot, “Human Performance,” challenges automation and “faceless commerce” while showing artisans making their goods.
• The marketing campaign comes as Etsy continues to overhaul its policies and user experience, including revamping its homepage and implementing standards that specify that products must be made, designed, sourced or personally selected by sellers.

Diving Insight:

Etsy is tackling artificial intelligence (AI) concerns among creators with a new ad campaign and an adjustment to its platform guidelines that more strongly enforce the human element. The company is trying to return to its roots as a home for artisans to thrive and better differentiate itself from e-commerce giants like Amazon and Temu, an emerging foreign competitor that has gained traction with American consumers looking for cheaper goods.

Etsy itself has faced criticism as searches have been filled with AI-generated items that have received disappointing user reviews. The platform’s revamped creativity standards make it clear that everything sold on Etsy must have some degree of human involvement, and also includes the option for sellers to add labels that provide more detail about their processes, materials and tools.

The announcement acknowledged that many people are still turning to generative AI for creative ideation and production. Etsy does not ban generative AI tools in its seller handbook, although AI use must be disclosed in listings and the company does not allow the sale of bundles of AI quick responses.

Regardless, the new ad campaign, created with agency Orchard, is openly skeptical about what automation can achieve. The heroic ad begins with the words “What does a robot know?” and ends with a crumpled robot arm in a shower of confetti, superimposed on the slogan “Keep Commerce Human.” The ad features a variety of real Etsy sellers making goods like pottery, furniture, art, and clothing. The press materials seemed to make a veiled nod to Apple’s ill-fated ad, which showed a hydraulic press crushing artists’ tools.

“In an increasingly automated world, Etsy stands for something different,” David Kolbusz, chief creative officer at Orchard, said in a statement. “Our film isn’t anti-tech, it’s pro-human. It’s a reminder that the things that arrive at your door can come from a place more meaningful than a fulfillment center.”

Out-of-home shopping in New York and London has been placed in areas that are meant to feel intimate, while Etsy also runs large billboards promoting its sellers by name. The strategy was outlined by Brad Minor, who was named Etsy’s first chief brand officer earlier this week. Minor previously served as Etsy’s global head of brand marketing and communications.

Etsy’s revenue rose 0.8% in the first quarter, with executives citing a “challenging environment” for discretionary consumer spending.