From Static to Cinematic: DecksDirect Brings Video In-House

How AI helped DecksDirect transcend static ads and launch professional video creative in-house — fast, affordably, and scalably.

This wasn’t just a holiday campaign — it was the launch of a scalable, repeatable system for video-first marketing. By producing ads in-house with AI augmentation, we cut costs by an estimated 80% while maintaining studio-level quality.

Cut Costs, Not Corners

Produced in-house video ads for an estimated 80% less than traditional studio shoots.

Eliminated expenses for actors, locations, and crews by blending AI avatars, licensed video, and self-produced owned video.

Achieved professional polish without compromising brand standards.

“We had three options with AI: litigate, negotiate, or do nothing. We weren’t going to do nothing… we’ve negotiated — We’re using all the tools and technologies to be more efficient
and to compete on a global basis.”

*Tech Notes — We started by developing a TOFU series of video assets for YouTube/Google Demand Gen, with 30 sec OTT campaigns retargeting to viewers with short CTA ads targeted by device exclusively to mobile. The campaign performed best with DIYers and video assets CTR outperformed static by about 67%.

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Like TIME, we chose to integrate AI into our workflows — the result: cinematic ads produced in-house for a fraction of traditional budgets.

Augmented, Not Replaced

Used AI to complement Adobe workflows, not replace them — boosting speed without losing quality.

Generated ICP avatars, scripts, and hooks that set the creative direction before production began.

Streamlined revisions and approvals by aligning assets to data-driven audience insights.

“[AI isn’t] just a tool, it’s leverage. If you’re not using AI to move faster or make smarter decisions, you’re behind.”

*Tech Notes — Generative assets primarily made with GPT-4o, Runway Gen 4, and Eleven Labs (the best of APR 2025). Self-produced assets shot with a DJI Mini 4 Pro, and Sony DSLRs. Music was composed in Logic Pro, then processed in Suno. Assembly, formatting & output were done in Adobe Premiere Pro.

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Like Cuban says, we treated AI as leverage — accelerating pre-production from research to scripts, while keeping creative quality in human hands.

“In an age of AI, the most valuable business insights won’t come from predicting what will change, but what will stay the same.”

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By anchoring creative to timeless customer insights, we used AI to scale production into a repeatable system — not a one-off experiment.