Agencies & Marketing — Why Brand Authenticity Is Becoming Performance Art in the AI Era

Agencies & Marketing · 2026-03-13

OPENING In a week where Zevia mocks AI with deliberately malfunctioning robots and Dove builds campaigns from Reddit feedback, we're witnessing a fascinating evolution in brand authenticity. The performative rejection of artificial perfection is becoming the new hallmark of genuine consumer connection.

The marketing landscape is experiencing a profound identity crisis, caught between the allure of AI-powered efficiency and the growing consumer appetite for authenticity. Zevia's latest campaign, featuring a comically malfunctioning robot employee, isn't just clever advertising – it's a calculated statement about brand positioning in an AI-saturated world. By explicitly mocking both artificial intelligence and their larger competitors' embrace of it, Zevia is staking out territory as a truth-teller in an increasingly synthetic marketplace. This follows their previous swipe at Coca-Cola's AI-generated holiday marketing, establishing a clear pattern of positioning themselves as the authentic alternative.

This quest for authenticity is manifesting across the industry in different ways. While Zevia chooses satire, Dove is taking a more direct approach by turning Reddit product feedback into real-world campaigns. This move brilliantly transforms consumer engagement from a marketing exercise into actual product development and advertising content. It's authenticity as process rather than just messaging.

The contrast with TreSemmé's approach is telling. Their partnership with "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and focus on "affordable luxury" represents the more traditional path of aspirational marketing. Yet even here, they're hedging their bets by incorporating influencer authenticity through podcast personality Paige DeSorbo, suggesting that no brand feels immune to the authenticity imperative.

WHAT TO WATCH The next month will reveal whether more brands follow Zevia's bold strategy of explicitly positioning against AI-driven marketing, or take Dove's approach of demonstrating authenticity through direct consumer collaboration. Watch for a potential backlash against brands that lean too heavily into AI-generated content without acknowledging it. The real winners will be those who find creative ways to blend technological efficiency with genuine human connection, rather than treating them as mutually exclusive choices. The era of brands simply claiming authenticity is over – they now need to prove it through increasingly sophisticated performances of truthfulness.