06/05/2026
If you're using AI to create your agency's hiring graphics, event flyers, patches, challenge coins, merchandise, logos, or marketing materials…we have a challenge for you.
Before you publish it, hand it to the most detail-oriented person in your organization and ask them one simple question. We’re talking the “uniform nazi” or the person who knows every policy by heart somehow.
Just say, "Find everything wrong with this please." And you may be surprised by everything they find. Think we’re being dramatic for emphasis? Check out this shirt is currently being sold by Ram, Dodge’s truck brand that is currently worth $11-$15 billion.
We’re not talking a startup. Not a grassroots volunteer organization. Not a small business owner trying to stretch a non-existent marketing budget. AI is still not great for those either, but at least we (kind of) get it.
We’re talking one of the largest truck manufacturers in America. And with a quick glance, it looks fine. It’s Patriotic. It’s Rugged. It’s on-brand for Ram.
Then people started looking closer. And by people, we mean the internet. And by looking closer, we mean a human laid eyes on the shirt design for the first time ever and unfortunately for Ram, it wasn’t one of their employees.
So, let’s break it down. The American flag has 40 stars. And as a history nerd, I did some digging. They are not wrong about the US flag having 40 stars. That was the case. For 6 days in November. After North and South Dakota joined the Union. Eighteen hundred and eighty-nine years after the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ 😂 (November 1889).
AI can’t count, who cares!? Fair enough. Ram is a truck brand and this is about a patriotic rock-climbing Ram. Hell yeah, I can get behind that! But if you happen to be not only a history nerd, but also a car nerd, you can immediately see that’s actually a crew cab Toyota Tacoma. But at least it does say “RAM” on the grille.
Now, stop and really think about that for a second. A graphic design was generated, approved, produced, listed for sale, and made available to the world without anyone in this multi-billion dollar organization stopping the process long enough to ask, "Wait...is that even our truck?"
That's not an AI problem. That's a human oversight and overconfidence problem. We use AI ourselves, it does have legitimate uses. It can help brainstorm ideas, speed up workflows, assist with writing prompts, make funny photos of people, and even generate mockups and concepts during our creative process.
What it should never be doing is serving as the final designer, final writer, final editor, and final approval authority all at once. However, that's exactly what we're seeing happen in the public and private sector alike. And everyone else, including your customers and potential recruits, also notice.
Police agencies are posting AI-generated recruitment graphics with incorrect uniforms, badges, patches, and equipment. Fire departments are creating event promotions with apparatus that don't exist. Businesses are printing merchandise and marketing materials that look polished from a distance, but start falling apart the second someone pays attention.
As more organizations rely on AI-generated content, they're all starting to look the same, regardless of what they do. Organizations flooding their websites and social media channels with generic AI-generated content, aka “AI slop,” are not gaining an advantage simply because it was faster to create. You are falling behind.
The same principle applies to social media and branding. The goal isn't to create content faster than everyone else or a create a new brand mark overnight. The goal is to create content better than everyone else that also speaks to your ideal follower/client. The goal is to create a brand that isn’t AI generated and stands out against all the others that went that route.
AI can help you get there. It cannot replace judgment, experience, attention to detail, or pride in your work. If you're using AI, use it. Just don't skip the most important step in the process. Review everything before it carries your agency's badge, your company's logo, or your organization's reputation.
Because your audience notices more than you think they do…and the internet does what the internet does. Once trust starts slipping, it's a lot harder to rebuild than it was to spend five extra minutes checking the work or hiring an actual graphic designer.
If you’re sick of blending in, call OS Media at 402.889.8652 or visit OSMGMarketing.com and we’ll help you stand out.
