Australian Unity - Worth Doing Well via The Royals
Hybrid AI Production - Real People, AI Locations

The regional campaign portrays talent enjoying life and creating those memorable moments - all thanks to Australian Unity.

The time, costs, waste and emissions creating these locations weren't possible, so we integrated AI imagery for the background.

In a studio, Karima Asaad photographed eleven real people in eight hours. Our AI creative partner generated each setting, emulating a country show, regional gig, Parkes Elvis event and a colour run.

Normally, a four-location shoot across regional Australia would mean weeks of planning, scouting, travel, and setup. With AI, Sure Studios built the scenes in days, not weeks. That meant less time scouting, securing permits, or waiting on weather. The biggest shift was how quickly the studio could test options, generate, review, and refine, without leaving the studio.

The Royals’ founder and managing partner, Andrew Siwka, added that the use of AI presented a practical solution with real value. “From a brand perspective, staying authentic was non-negotiable -- especially in healthcare,” he said. “We made a clear decision not to use AI to generate any hero human imagery. The AI was used to help build the broader visual world around the campaign. It was about enhancing the process, not replacing human connection.

“We saved about 10–20% of the total production time, including time in pre-production. We did spend more time in post-production iterating and fine-tuning the AI outputs, and maintained a final ‘craft’ layer through retouching and colour grading.”

We see AI as additive, not subtractive. It sped up background generation, but every step still needed human direction, photography, retouching, wardrobe, some props, and client sign-off. The campaign would not exist without traditional skills at its core.

For OOH, where scale and speed matter, hybrid AI is a powerful option. But not every campaign suits it; sometimes you need the depth and unpredictability of a real location. We expect to see AI become a standard option in the production mix, used when it makes creative and practical sense.

Brand: Australian Unity
Agency: The Royals
Executive Producer: Steven Farrer
Senior Producer: Justin Solomons
Client Lead: Kaytee Elliott
Photography: Karima Asaad
Digi: Maddison Woollard
First: Gerald Diel
Gaffer: Remi Durrenberger
Stylist: Iwona Lau
Stylist Assist: Dody Austin
Props: May Kiyama
HMU: Camilla Leary & Alex Grbas
Runner: Yewande Willis

Talent: John Clingan, Lisa Boaden, Elizabeth Paula
Cartmer, Brodie Mclennan, Melani Gatmaitan, Rebecca, Paris Tenana, Ben Fransham, Chris Moran, Christopher Brow, Taddeh Vartanian