Stationery brand Staedtler is using AI to reaffirm the human element of human creativity.

The brand’s “The Brilliance of the Human Hand” pits the talent of Leah Probst, a Toronto-based artist who specializes in hyperrealism, against AI. They are both given the same prompt: draw “two people holding hands.”

The two-minute creative video reveals the shortcomings of AI, such as its inability to capture the human hand with accuracy or humanity, while showing Probst at work. Probst, who is left-handed, admits that she has to watch out for smudging, which is not a problem when using the Pigment Arts Pens heroed in the spot. She says that her art, like all art, comes with its own quirks, history, culture and storytelling.

Diane Brasil, head of marketing at Staedtler, says the campaign demonstrates that AI will never usurp the enduring talent of the human hand, given the authenticity, uniqueness and possibilities that entails.

While various human endeavours are threatened by the technology, Staedtler is positioning AI as a mere tool – and not a substitute – for human imagination, intuition and artistic prowess.

Because of the product’s colour vibrancy, the target for this campaign is the fine arts community. As for timing, Brasil says the back-to-school and back-to-work period is its top-selling season, servicing both the arts professional and also K-12 with other offerings in its stationery portfolio.

Brasil tells strategy its industry is cyclical and when the broader economy is struggling, the arts and crafts business gets a slight boost as more people pick up hobbies and side hustles to help make ends meet.

The long-form video will be on YouTube, and Staedtler also has teasers on Facebook and Instagram as well as on its website. The global provider of high-quality writing and drawing instruments has also engaged a range of online artists to put their own spin on the AI prompt.

Staedtler is also tapping its dealer networks in the U.S. and Canada to increase visibility of its Pigment Arts Pens. Print ads will roll out next year, with a greater focus south of the border.

DonerNorth, part of Stagwell’s Doner Partners Network (DPN), is the agency behind the work, both from the creative and the media side.

Ad spend is in line with past efforts.