It’s not enough for marketing to make you understand something, it has to make you feel something, argues Apple marketing boss Tor Myhren.
As artificial intelligence continues to dominate the conversation for many – if not all – marketers, Apple vice-president of marketing communications Tor Myhren is making his case for “human creativity”.
“Machines are doing much more of the work for us. Algorithms are making many more decisions for us, because they’re really smart and they’re really logical – but logic isn’t always the path to human connection,” he said, speaking at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity today (16 June).
Myhren, this year’s Cannes Lions’ creative marketer of the year, believes “to fall in love with your brand it’s not enough for marketing to make you simply understand something.” Instead, he made the case for emotion.
As artificial intelligence continues to dominate the conversation for many – if not all – marketers, Apple vice-president of marketing communications Tor Myhren is making his case for “human creativity”.
“Machines are doing much more of the work for us. Algorithms are making many more decisions for us, because they’re really smart and they’re really logical – but logic isn’t always the path to human connection,” he said, speaking at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity today (16 June).
Myhren, this year’s Cannes Lions’ creative marketer of the year, believes “to fall in love with your brand it’s not enough for marketing to make you simply understand something.” Instead, he made the case for emotion.
“It [marketing] has to make you feel something and I think people are so much better at this than machines, I really do,” Myhren argued, adding emotional resonance is what builds brand love.
The good news is AI is not going to kill advertising. The bad news is, AI is not going to save advertising. We’ve got to save ourselves.
Tor Myhren, Apple
“The human touch is our superpower […] I am a shameless optimist and I believe in human creativity, and I don’t believe predictions that 95% of this industry will soon be done by plugging in your bank accounts and pushing a button,” he added.
Myhren did, however, acknowledge the transformational impact AI is having on marketing and advertising.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “AI is mind blowing. It is revolutionary. It’s the most exciting creative tool we’ve seen in our lifetimes. It’ll be woven into every single aspect of what we do and every single aspect of the creative process, and it’ll be like a bionic arm for all of us. It’s going to radically disrupt every major industry, including this one, faster than any technology before – and doing it already.”
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The Apple marketing boss stressed the need for marketing to rise to the challenge of AI and lean into the disruption.
“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is AI is not going to kill advertising. The bad news is, AI is not going to save advertising. We’ve got to save ourselves,” he stated.
Discussing Apple’s recent marketing campaigns, Myhren highlighted the brand’s Christmas 2024 campaign, which focuses on its Airpod earphone technology being used for hearing aid support. The campaign was Apple’s “most watched holiday ad ever” and an example of putting human creativity to good use.
“The moral compass of Apple, to me, is very comforting in an era where machines are making more and more decisions for companies,” he said.
“Though the data probably wouldn’t say that a four-year investment in making Airpods into hearing aids is going to drive up the ROI.”
Myhren described that campaign as an example of where the marketing team trusted their human instincts and followed their hearts.
Read more from Marketing Week at Cannes Lions 2025 here.
