Short reads for short attention spans

Brands lean into longer-format “short films” as antidote to short-form fatigue

With short-form video still dominating social feeds, several major advertisers are shifting back toward 60–120 second “short-film” formats to counter declining attention and creative sameness. Recent industry analysis shows brands leaning into richer storytelling, cinematic visual language and emotionally-led narratives to achieve higher memorability and longer-term brand effects, a contrast to the rapid, hook-heavy 6- to 15-second formats that are increasingly oversaturated.

Why it matters:

• Short-form formats aren’t disappearing, but their incremental value is diminishing as users skip, scroll, and fatigue faster.
• Longer-form brand storytelling can drive stronger emotional impact and build brand equity, especially when repurposed across CTV, YouTube and digital video.
• Marketers should reconsider whether their creative mix is too skewed toward fast-turnaround assets at the expense of brand-building work.

Further reading at Marketing Week:

Why some brands are leaning into short films

Holiday-season automation & creative-fatigue risk for paid social

As retailers and brands ramp up Q4 activity, Meta, TikTok and other platforms are leaning more heavily on automation, from budget optimisation to creative rotation and audience expansion. But with higher ad volumes, shorter review cycles and aggressive bidding, many advertisers are encountering rapid creative fatigue, especially in performance campaigns relying on similar templates or AI-generated variations.

Why it matters:

• Creative decay in Q4 happens faster than any other time of year, under-performing ads can tank CPM efficiency in days.
• Automated systems prioritise scale, not nuance; without manual oversight, brands risk repeating weak creative variants.
• Marketers should pre-build larger Q4 asset libraries, introduce more variation earlier, and monitor fatigue indicators daily.

Further reading at Medium:

Why E-commerce Brands Hit Creative Fatigue in 7 Days

Channel 4 launches free AI-generated TV ad service for SMEs — following ITV’s earlier move

Channel 4 has introduced a new AI-powered tool that allows SMEs to generate TV-ready ad creative for free, using existing assets such as product images, website copy and social content. The rollout comes shortly after ITV launched a similar AI ad-creation service, signalling a broader trend among UK broadcasters to remove barriers to TV entry for smaller advertisers and to compete more directly with digital self-serve platforms.

Why it matters:

• TV, both linear and CTV, becomes more accessible to brands previously priced out of production costs.
• Broadcasters are responding to SME demand for low-cost, low-friction creative solutions traditionally owned by Meta and Google.
• Media planners should expect more “new-to-TV” brands entering the channel and increased competition for affordable AV inventory.

Further reading at Marketing Week:

Channel 4 launches AI-generated ad service for SMEs