Could the gig economy break Hollywood? Fiverr believes it has found the model… by focusing entirely on generative AI.
The freelance marketplace, which connects users with workers in all kinds of categories (such as website development, resume mentoring, etc.) on Tuesday launched an “AI Video Hub,” which will offer services from a group of well-known AI managers at “a fraction of the cost” of traditional production, says Mati Yahav, Fiverr’s marketing director.
They include Billy Bewman, the Stockholm-based director who has created AI brand videos for Google, Universal Music Group and Klarna, among others. In a marketing stunt tied to the launch, Fiverr built a 30-foot-tall, 230-foot-wide billboard bearing Bowman’s name overlooking Highway 101, and was meant to evoke the Hollywood sign.
It also features The Dor Brothers, who created Snoop Dogg’s first AI-generated music video, and other directors with experience using AI tools for business.
In fact, commercials, especially for small businesses, seem to be the logical market for Fiverr. Big brands, after all, can pick and choose who they work with on a project-by-project basis, and have no problem tapping into the human creativity of big agencies (many of which are also adopting AI tools).
And while Fiverr frames its market as a disruption to the Hollywood studio system, that seems even more disconcerting to Madison Ave, which has never been quite able to crack advertising for small and medium-sized businesses, given its obvious economic constraints.
Car companies have huge marketing budgets. Car dealers don’t.
AI directors will create brand films, social media content, and even commercials that can play on TV or streaming platforms.
“For decades, brand video has been at the mercy of Hollywood production rules: big crews, big agencies, big budgets, and months of deadlines,” Yahav said in a statement. “This model is breaking down. Directors at this center produce work that rivals anything coming out of a traditional studio, and they do it faster, leaner and at a fraction of the cost. We put up a 30-foot banner on a hill in Los Angeles because that’s where the entertainment industry always announces what’s coming next. This is what’s coming next.”
“A year ago, I was limited to what was technically possible,” Bowman added. “Now I’m only limited by what I can imagine, and that changes everything about how a brand tells its story.” “My name on this hill next to one of the most famous landmarks in entertainment history says something about the direction this industry is headed. The old gatekeepers built amazing things. But the gates are open now, and the directors who pass through them don’t need a studio or a seven-figure budget to achieve this level.”
