🎨 How you can use playful prompts to unlock Google’s cinematic new video AI 🤖

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AI Creativity Chronicles​
Making Marketing Fun Again,
One Week at a Time

Hey there,

You probably didn’t expect finger painting to show up in a conversation about AI.

But tapping into that same spirit of childlike curiosity—hands in the color, no rules, just play—is exactly what helped me experience one of the most breathtaking AI creative breakthroughs I’ve seen: Google’s new Veo video AI.

To help my friend Vince Casalaina and his documentary in development, I experimented with Veo to express the soul of vintage wooden sailboats—not just how they look, but the feeling of something timeless and hand-crafted… and connected to the San Francisco Bay.

​

Even the sound of the waves against the boat’s hull came from Veo. 🤯

This video clip is one in a series of playful, experimental tests that I created using the same kind of iterative process I’ve been recommending to people who are getting their AI fingers wet with AI image generation.

If you want more details on the Veo video experiment above, here’s my whole “conversation” with Veo video AI and the array of text-to-video clips I created, all in about 30 minutes. The last clip came from a prompt generated by ChatGPT.

Most importantly, this process isn’t just about how to work with AI. For me and many others, it’s about a return of creative curiosity and wonder. And for social and digital pros, it’s a whole new palette with immense storytelling potential.

That’s why I’m building Prompted to Create, a course to help curious creatives like you turn prompting into an expressive, joyful, useful part of your toolkit.

👉 Hop on the waitlist to get updates and early access (no pressure—just first dibs).

Play isn’t optional anymore. It’s how we create what’s next.

Stay creative. Stay curious. Stay human.

Jon Leland
AI Creativity Coach, Creator of the upcoming “Prompted to Create” Course

🧠 AI Avatars in the Real World: Professional Take Now Live

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AI Creativity Chronicles​
Making Marketing Fun Again,
One Week at a Time

Creative Curiosity, Meet Professional Validation

Last week, I shared how an AI-generated avatar named Abigail helped me refine messaging, explore personas, and rethink video content.

This week?
That experiment is now being featured on the National Institute for Social Media (NISM) blog — a hub for certified social media strategists.

🎯 Same creative journey, but with a deeper, more professional lens:

  • How AI tools like ChatGPT, ElevenLabs & HeyGen can amplify strategy
  • Why AI avatars aren’t gimmicks, but useful message-testing tools
  • What social pros can gain from experimenting intentionally

👉 Read the full NISM feature here:​
​Beyond the Gimmick: What an AI Avatar Can Teach Social Media Marketers​

🧪 This isn’t just about one avatar.
It’s about how fast AI is reshaping content workflows — and why curiosity-driven marketers are thriving.

📥 If this gets your wheels turning, don’t miss my upcoming CEU-eligible course:
​Prompted to Create — Get on the Waitlist​

Stay creative. Stay curious. Stay human.

Jon Leland
AI Creativity Coach

🤖 Don’t Waste Time on AI Gimmicks. Get Marketing Insights from My New AI Avatar Video.

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AI Creativity Chronicles​
Making Marketing Fun Again,
One Week at a Time

AI Avatars: More Than a Trend,
A Tool for Marketing Insights

Last week, you met Abigail — my fully AI-generated avatar spokeswoman.

This week, I produced a short video that pulls back the curtain on the AI-enhanced creative process that brought her to life — and what it reveals for marketers and creators.

🎯 Learn how AI avatars can:

  • Help clarify your message and tone
  • Bring your ideal audience persona to life
  • Accelerate creative experimentation

If you’re wondering how to keep up with AI, this 5-minute video is a real-world case study that you might find eye-opening.

👉 Watch now:

video preview​

📥 And if this sparks ideas?
​Get on the waitlist for my upcoming course:
​play.combridges.com/prompted​

Stay creative. Stay curious. Stay human.

Jon Leland
AI Creativity Coach

🤖 Learn from Playful Experiments. Why My AI Spokeswoman is More Than a Pretty Prompt 🎤

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AI Creativity Chronicles​
Making Marketing Fun Again,
One Week at a Time

She’s Not Real, But the Creativity Is.

If AI tools are evolving at lightning speed — and they are — then creative marketers have two choices:

🛑 Hesitate and get left behind
🚀 Or experiment boldly and stay ahead of the curve

I chose option 2.

Meet Abigail, my new AI-generated spokeswoman:

​

She’s not just a gimmick. She’s a living experiment in what’s now possible with:

  • ChatGPT (for script co-writing & image prompt)
  • Ideogram (for her look)
  • ElevenLabs (for her voice)
  • HeyGen (for the lip sync video)
  • Riverside.fm (for the captions)

Yes, it’s a little weird.
Yes, it’s a little wonderful.
And, it’s exactly the kind of exploration that today’s AI-powered creativity demands.

Creating Abigail wasn’t about perfection — it was about play, experimentation, and learning by doing.

Please let me know, would you like a “how she was made” tutorial video? If there’s enough demand, I’ll make one.

And for sure, she’s a taste of what’s coming in my next course:
​
​Prompted to Create: ​
An Experiential Breakthrough Approach to AI for Marketers

We’re not launching just yet. So, for now, think of this as your invitation to stay curious and get ready.

📩 Want to be the first to know when the course opens?

​Join the waitlist here (the waiting list is free)

Or just hit reply and tell me what AI tool you’ve been meaning to try or find the most empowering — I’d love to hear about it.

Stay creative. Stay curious. Stay human.

Jon Leland
AI Creativity Coach

🎬 How Did This Doc Filmmaker Use AI for Unusual Creative Firepower? 🔥

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Creativity Chronicles​
Unlocking Creative Joy, One Week at a Time

Hey Reader,

The Creative Edge Today:
Human + AI in Sync

AI isn’t the enemy — it’s an amplifier. The creative edge comes from being a smarter, more human partner with AI.

That’s not just a theory — it’s what creative leaders are doing right now.

In my latest episode of Video Mojo, I talk with my long-time collaborator Vince Casalaina, a passionate documentary filmmaker with a story that matters… and a limited budget. 😁

By using just the right mix of AI tools (and with a little help from me), Vince was able to:

✅ Draft a meaningful story structure for his film
✅ Create visual assets that would have never been possible
✅ Move his film project forward in a way that amplifies the heart of his story

👀 Watch the Interview with Vince 👇

video preview​

This is a clear, real-world example of human-AI symbiosis, where technology amplifies creativity instead of replacing it.

And if you’re a marketing professional, this is your signal.

AI isn’t just a productivity hack.

If you use it correctly, it’s a creative partner that can help you make better content faster while staying authentic and strategic.

💥 Want to learn how to do this for your own marketing?

Join the waitlist for my new course:
​Prompted to Create:
​A Breakthrough Experiential Approach to AI for Marketers

This course is different. It’s hands-on experiential with exercises. That’s important because we all gain a better understanding by doing stuff.

This course is also designed to help you stop overthinking and start creating with AI so that you are no longer overwhelmed by it.

AI is the future. I want you to take advantage of AI in a way that will secure your future, with your humanity intact. 👩‍🔧

👉 Join the Waitlist Now​

Stay creative, stay human,

Jon Leland, AI Creativity & Marketing Strategist
​“Spanning the Grand Canyon Gap between people and technology.”