By Kate Rourke, Director, Head of Creative for APAC at Getty Images
Last year, we couldn’t stop talking about AI slop. This year, it’s all about “taste”. In the world of instant and endless digital reproduction, marketers are hedging their bets on taste; our ‘human’ ability to understand the subtleties of preferences and the nuances of culture and identity, to avoid falling into the dreaded and generic, AI-generated sea of sameness.
Marketers know that simply producing more isn’t enough to capture attention. It’s just adding more slop to the pile. To truly stand out, you need to move from generating to curating; creating stories that meet the reality of how people interact with the world. When we talk about taste, we’re actually talking about the ability to spot what real feels like.
My role is to help marketers back their human instinct with one of the largest data sets of creative visuals. Through our research platform, VisualGPS, we can track over 2.7 billion searches and millions of visual and video choices made by some of the world’s most influential brands every year.
By analysing, not only what audiences are searching for, but also the specific visuals brands are commissioning to meet their commercial objectives, we gain a rare, front row seat to ‘taste’ in action.
Our findings show three clear trends shaping the marketing landscape in 2026.
Real people are the premium
Brands across sectors are increasingly placing real people and everyday moments at the heart of their visual identity. An overwhelming 95% of briefs that brands commission from us request the inclusion of people. Specifically, real people, not models. Authenticity is the most requested concept across all briefs, with 90% of marketers emphasising the need for real-life representation.
In an AI-slop environment, there is a counter trend emerging where audiences are seeking realness in their feeds; as well as real people, we want unguarded moments that feel discovered rather than directed. As digital native consumers, we know when something is overly staged or performative. Visuals with a face, view or personality are more relatable or trustworthy.
For brand content, the challenge lies in striking the right balance; can visuals feel relatable while still maintaining a visual style that inspires? SAP provides a great example of authenticity in their visual strategy. When they came to us looking to commission bespoke content, their goal was to capture the diversity and emotional subtlety of today’s professional world.
By focusing their briefs on the genuine connections and through depicting different generations, as well representing both visible and invisible disabilities, SAP showcased the modern workplace exactly as it exists, making people and their differences the core narrative, rather than an afterthought.
We’re seeing this people-first storytelling trend across the industry more broadly. One example is Rexona’s new brand-owned series Rivals. The brand is putting a twist on traditional sponsorship with original l production, with documentary-style behind behind-the-scenes content and athlete interviews. The goal is to show high production value doesn’t have to feel manufactured; it’s about capturing genuine moments fans crave.
Emotion as the new baseline
Brands are using emotion as a core element of their visual strategy. Almost two in three brand briefs we analyse request emotional connection, proving that the goal is no longer simply to be seen; it’s to make audiences feel something. Emotional recall makes brands memorable and emotional resonance helps to build brand loyalty. It’s good old behavioral psychology in play.
Asahi leaned into this by celebrating connection and shared joy in their people-focused visuals. Their custom content briefs to us centered on capturing real moments — friends gathering over drinks or a father bonding with his child at dinner – that are rooted in togetherness. By focusing on candid emotions, Asahi sought vibrant, relatable interpretations of familiar concepts, helping bring to life their core brand message: Make the world shine.
This is where the limitations of AI become most apparent. Yes, it can now replicate technically perfect images in just about any style, but it can’t capture the unpredictable human moments that create genuine emotional depth. Audiences love fleeting expressions, unexpected interactions, and real vulnerability that catches them off guard.
The goal for marketers isn’t to be seen, but to be felt. By showing the steam off a morning coffee, the quiet of a solo hike or the mess of a shared family meal, brands stop pitching a product and start anchoring themselves to the moments we actually care about.
Representing real lives and cultures
Inclusive representation remains a priority for brands. Today, 72% of creative briefs explicitly demand diversity, with ethnicity being the primary focus for almost three out of four brands. But diversity is moving away from simply showing different faces, to showing perspectives.
After all, people within cultures don’t share all the same tastes. Instead, countless microcultures represent the niche interests of like-minded people, dictating trends and influencing which brands rise to relevancy. To connect with these microcultures, marketers need to understand how people actually live and the communities they care about.
Our work with Sports Direct on their Equal Play initiative is an example of representation in action. Tapping into grassroots communities, we worked with a range of participants to capture women and girls training, coaching and cheering, to share a more real and inclusive view of what the sport looks like today and open the game to everyone.
While diversity is a focus, there are still industry blind spots. Brands request Millennials and Gen Z three times more often than Gen X or Boomers. When older generations do appear in visual marketing, they’re usually relegated to tropes of “wisdom” or “tradition.” Whereas in reality, boomers are often the most active and experimental of any generation!
What this all means for marketers
In a saturated content landscape, people-first storytelling that expertly blends authenticity and emotion, is instantly more distinctive and can build stronger connections with the audience. As audience expectations evolve, so do the types of visuals marketers are commissioning – candid, more purposeful, and more aligned with shifting cultural cues.
Sure, AI can create visuals and videos at super speed. But what it can’t do is apply ‘taste’ to determine if those things are meaningful for real people.