AI video technology is changing how brands develop marketing campaigns, allowing founder-led studios to pursue creative ideas that once required extensive traditional production resources. This shift reduces costs and expands what these studios can imagine making, especially for brands built around athletes, entertainers, and their associated intellectual property.
One of One, an AI-native studio founded by Alex Shalson and Jack Hershman, recently leveraged this approach to create the first official apparel label for Diego Maradona, the late Argentine footballer. Released under Electa Global’s exclusive license and timed to the World Cup, this project was the founders’ first major undertaking. Through the use of artificial intelligence, One of One generated every campaign asset, including the website, editorial content, press materials, product images, film, and social media content. Three weeks after its launch, the campaign had reportedly reached 10 million people, and the debut collection quickly sold out. Notably, this campaign was completed without a traditional production company, international film shoots, or a months-long schedule.
Traditionally, launching a new apparel brand, particularly one featuring a global icon like Maradona, involves significant logistical and financial investment. Such a project would typically necessitate film crews in multiple international locations, such as Buenos Aires, where Maradona learned the game in Villa Fiorito, and Naples, Italy, where his image still adorns a mural in Quartieri Spagnoli. This process would also require a dedicated creative team, location scouts, casting agencies in two different countries, securing permits, and a producer solely focused on managing a complex schedule to prevent delays. These traditional methods could consume months and a substantial portion of the budget before any filming even began. Higgsfield AI explains that AI video offers a streamlined alternative, not just through lower costs but by enabling a fundamental shift in creative possibilities for brands seeking impact without a large budget.
Shalson and Hershman at One of One began their process by asking a pivotal question: whether they could create content featuring a sporting talent's likeness without requiring their physical presence on set. They recognized that Maradona’s story is intrinsically linked to the cities he played in and the cultural environment that grew around him, making locations like Buenos Aires and Naples indispensable to the brand narrative. Rather than orchestrating shoots in two countries with multiple crews, One of One utilized parallel creative workstreams powered by AI. This allowed them to produce all campaign images, video, and motion graphics on a single platform.
The studio generated concept imagery early in the process, transforming it into visual storyboards for the client. This provided a concrete visual for client feedback before full execution. For talent-focused work, this preliminary stage was also crucial for establishing guidelines to ensure accuracy in representing the person's likeness, including their appearance and movement. During production, the team matched various AI models to specific tasks, employing Nano Banana Pro, Nano Banana 2, and Cinema Studio for creative development and e-commerce imagery, and Seedance 2.0 and Kling 3.0 for film and animation.
The expanding use of AI tools also presents new considerations for creative studios. While generating polished images and short video clips is becoming more accessible, the differentiation lies in the "judgment" needed to create work that genuinely resonates with a specific brand. Shalson emphasizes that the technology serves as an instrument, and the studio’s skill in using it constitutes the true craft. One of One judiciously employs AI only when it can realize an idea that would otherwise be too difficult, expensive, or impractical to execute.
AI-native studios are poised to redefine who can develop high-impact brand campaigns. They suggest that large production budgets may no longer be a prerequisite for realizing ambitious visual concepts. Small teams, exemplified by Shalson and Hershman, can now build comprehensive brand campaigns and generate consistent streams of content, bypassing the high costs and logistical complexities of traditional production methods. This development means that emerging brands can access rich, creative work that was previously beyond their reach. Established brands also benefit, gaining the ability to test creative directions before significant investment and to layer additional content during product launches.
However, the proliferation of easily created material raises challenges, particularly for established brands aiming to maintain a distinct identity. Authenticity and intellectual property rights are critical, especially when campaigns feature real people. Brands and studios must ensure clear permissions and adopt a thoughtful approach to representing an individual’s likeness. Alex Shalson anticipates that the AI rights to a person’s likeness will increasingly become a valuable asset in their own right. By combining these rights with AI production capabilities and a clear creative vision, athletes and their estates can be featured in campaigns for which they were never physically filmed. This is evident in the Maradona label, which launched this year, years after his passing in 2020.
For founders considering this innovative path, One of One’s strategy offers actionable advice: adopt AI tools quickly, understand their limitations, and continuously refine the craft of creating compelling content. Shalson believes AI tools will become standard equipment for creative studios, but integrating them effectively requires discerning taste, which ultimately will distinguish enduring studios. This story was produced by Higgsfield AI and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.