It’s impossible to ignore: we live in an age when the entire advertising industry - both globally and in Israel - is implementing advanced AI tools and experimenting with their possibilities, while also concerned about regulation and potential consequences. Every stage of this work is undergoing changes, with more and more campaigns produced partly or entirely with artificial intelligence now appearing on our screens.
All the major technology companies are working on the next developments, chief among them Google and OpenAI. Running alongside is Israeli company Lightricks, which recently signed a year-long agreement with advertising agency McCann Paris to implement its proprietary AI LTX Studio platform for planning and creating films and creative content. The deal is valued at several hundred thousand dollars, with an option for expansion.
In addition to use of the platform, Lightricks will train dedicated models for brands handled by McCann Paris including the L'Oréal Group (which includes, among others, Vichy, La Roche Posay, Ferrero, Asus, Nespresso, Prada and more). The company says its model enables users to create videos 30 times faster than the competition, and of course at a significantly lower cost than regular productions.
The relationship commenced about a year ago, during which time McCann Paris tested versions of LTX Studio, and provided Lightricks with user feedback. As a result, changes were made to the platform, and upon completion of the pilot, it was integrated into McCann Paris’ workflow.
"Partnering with Lightricks helps our teams think faster and create more boldly," explains Julien Calot , chief creative cfficer at McCann Paris. "LTX Studio is now part of our tools, whether we're pitching ideas in auctions, creating a storyboard, or building the final campaign. The platform allows us to operate in a way that is simply not possible in traditional work processes."
Saving production costs
"If a creative team needs to present three options for a campaign, they can’t look generic or artificial like those produced by simple AI models. You need to create a unique look and feel for the brand, tailored to its style or the personality associated with it," explains Shani Mandel-Laufer, VP of Strategy and Business Development, who leads Lightricks’ global strategy.
"We train models the way we teach children, show them lots of pictures and videos, and then they know how to control movements, colors and visibility in general. It’s also suitable for creating pitch videos, as well as for actual advertisements, to reduce production costs.
"The industry's big money is in production, so the advertising agencies want to take this share and keep it with them. Together with them, we test and train models that are tailored to a specific style. If, for example, L'Oréal has three talents, each of whom is on a different continent, it's a nightmare getting them together, but in AI you can generate everything."
US concerns express concern
Lightricks was founded in 2013 and is headed by co-founder and CEO Dr. Zeev Farbman . The company has a staff of about 550 people and has raised about $335 million so far. The last round was in 2021, at a valuation of $1.8 billion.
Your competition is Google and OpenAI. How do you persuade customers to pick you?
Mandel-Laufer: "You constantly need to convince them that you’re taking things to the outer limits, and demonstrate success. You say you’ll deliver something-and then you deliver it. In the end, when an organization has to commit to a full year in such a noisy market, that’s what they want to see. In addition, because the model’s architecture is highly efficient, it’s cheaper to train than competitors’ models. It also facilitates the creation of longer videos."
Expensive is a relative concept, especially in comparison with the thousands of dollars in regular production costs. According to Mandel-Laufer, generating an eight second-long video can cost between a few dollars (expensive) and a few cents (cheap).
Did the war have an effect?
"We didn’t sense a drop in interest, not for a moment, fortunately. You get on a Zoom call from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and everyone knows where you’re located, but it was never personal, even if we had to run in the middle because of a siren. By the way, one reaction we heard repeatedly was, 'Oh, are you Israeli? Great, that means you're not Chinese.'"
According to Mandel-Laufer, US companies are reluctant to use Chinese models. Another concern stems from copyright issues - a matter shared by Europeans as well - "but gradually, they’re becoming more open to collaboration."
And what about the Israelis? "We’ve been in contact with McCann Tel Aviv, and spoken with quite a few agencies in Israel. Everyone understands that this is the game now. Adoption in the advertising world is relatively rapid, in part because budgets are tight. Suddenly, with the same budget, they're asked to produce five times as much content, so AI becomes the solution. Right now, we’re in the early stages, but over time, the results will look better. Gradually, there will be advertisements that no one will be able to tell were made with AI."
And what does the future hold? "We expect to expand into more agencies as well as with brands that do in-house advertising. We’re in final contract negotiations with some of them," Mandel-Laufer says.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 27, 2025.
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