A Guide to CGI in advertising
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is transforming the advertising landscape, empowering creative professionals to create campaigns that captivate audiences and drive results. From photorealistic product visuals to immersive virtual experiences, CGI is an essential skill set for freelancers, creative agencies, design studios, and event agencies looking to stay ahead.
With global ad spending projected to grow by 4.6% to $1.1 trillion and digital formats dominating the market, CGI is at the forefront of innovative storytelling and strategic marketing.
Why CGI is a critical tool for modern advertising
CGI, is the art of using computer graphics to create or manipulate images and video. More than just a tool, it’s a creative superpower, allowing you to build stunning visuals, whether hyper-realistic or fantastically surreal, without the constraints and costs of physical production. It’s the magic behind bringing inanimate objects to life, building worlds that defy physics, and showcasing products with impossible perfection.
CGI is the engine behind campaigns across social media, video, and immersive experiences. A standout example is Louis Vuitton’s 2025 CGI campaign, which featured a virtual Parisian skyline where iconic handbags floated among the clouds. Shared across Instagram and TikTok, the campaign garnered millions of views, showcasing CGI’s ability to deliver memorable, scalable content that resonates globally.
For creative professionals, CGI is a strategic equalizer. Freelancers and small studios can compete with large agencies by delivering high-impact campaigns on tighter budgets. Design studios can ensure flawless brand consistency, and events agencies can create virtual experiences that rival in-person events.
Key benefits of CGI for creative professionals
CGI offers transformative advantages that directly impact an agency's creative output and bottom line:
Unleashed creative freedom: CGI removes physical constraints. A freelancer can design an ad for a SaaS product featuring its interface floating in a sci-fi universe, a concept impossible with traditional photography.
Significant cost efficiency: Physical shoots involve sets, models, and travel, often costing tens of thousands. CGI can cut these production costs by 30–50%, making high-concept campaigns accessible for any budget.
Unmatched speed and flexibility: CGI streamlines production, allowing for rapid iterations. Agencies can adjust colors, lighting, or even entire environments in hours, not days, keeping campaigns aligned with fast-moving trends.
Flawless brand consistency: Design studios use CGI to create a unified library of visuals for websites, ads, and packaging, ensuring a cohesive brand identity that is critical for building trust, especially with B2B clients.
The Power of a "Digital Twin": A key advantage of CGI is the ability to create a photorealistic, 3D "digital twin" of a product. Once created, this single asset can be reused infinitely across all marketing channels, from static website images and social media posts to animated videos and AR experiences, ensuring perfect consistency and maximizing the value of the initial investment.
Top CGI trends for 2025
CGI is evolving rapidly. Here are the key trends defining advertising:
AI-driven CGI: Artificial intelligence is accelerating CGI workflows. Generative AI tools can now create initial 3D models or environments in minutes, allowing artists and designers to focus their time on refinement and creative direction.
Immersive experiences with AR/VR: Augmented and Virtual Reality campaigns are surging. Events agencies are using CGI to build entire virtual product launches, such as a 2025 SaaS conference featuring a 3D-rendered keynote stage accessible via VR headsets.
Sustainability in advertising: CGI dramatically reduces the environmental impact of advertising by eliminating the need for travel, set construction, and shipping associated with physical photoshoots. This has become a powerful selling point for agencies, as brands increasingly seek partners who align with their sustainability goals.
The rise of virtual influencers: Why hire a human influencer when you can create the perfect one? Brands are now developing their own CGI-based virtual avatars and influencers. These digital personalities offer complete control over messaging and brand image and can exist 24/7 across all digital platforms, creating a novel and highly engaging way to connect with audiences.
Programmatic advertising: Programmatic advertising is the automated, real-time buying and selling of digital ad space. Instead of a human negotiating ad placements, algorithms bid on ad impressions for specific target audiences. CGI is a perfect fit for this, as it allows agencies to create a wide variety of high-quality visual assets that can be automatically deployed and tested across different programmatic channels to see what resonates best, maximizing ROI.
Practical CGI applications for creative professionals
CGI’s flexibility makes it indispensable across the creative sector:
Freelancers: Create standout portfolio pieces with CGI to attract high-value clients. A 3D-rendered product demo can showcase your ability to deliver innovative visuals affordably.
Creative/digital agencies: Integrate CGI into social media and video campaigns for scalable, engaging content that stops the scroll.
Design/branding studios: Use CGI for consistent visuals across all brand touchpoints, from photorealistic mockups to animated logos.
Events agencies: Leverage CGI for immersive virtual event experiences, featuring interactive 3D elements that enhance engagement without physical setup costs.
Presenting CGI concepts with Formlio
Effectively communicating your CGI vision is critical to winning client buy-in. A static PDF simply can't do justice to a dynamic, 3D concept. This is where Formlio comes in very handy.
Formlio is a proposal platform that helps creative professionals pitch complex ideas by transforming proposals into interactive web experiences. Instead of just describing your CGI concept, you can immerse your client in it.
Immerse your client in the concept: Embed CGI video renders, 3D model viewers, and animations directly into your proposal. This solves the common problem of static PDFs that force clients to open multiple external links to view dynamic content. With Formlio, everything is integrated into one seamless experience, delivering a "wow" factor for your client that a static document (PDF) could never do.
Collaborate in real-time: Bring your team together to build the perfect pitch. Formlio's Google Docs-style collaboration lets your designers, strategists, and account managers work on the same proposal simultaneously, ensuring a cohesive and powerful final product.
Present anywhere: Because Formlio proposals are responsive web pages, you can be confident your CGI concepts will look stunning whether your client views them on a desktop, tablet, or mobile phone.
Navigating the Challenges of CGI
CGI’s power comes with practical and ethical responsibilities. Creative professionals must navigate these challenges to maintain trust and deliver quality work.
Ethical Considerations
Realism vs. fantasy: Ensure your visuals align with brand authenticity. Overly fantastical visuals can mislead audiences, especially in sectors where trust is paramount.
Transparency: Disclose the use of CGI to maintain credibility. This can be as simple as mentioning it in the copy on social media posts or including a small disclaimer in video descriptions.
Practical Hurdles
The skill barrier: High-quality CGI requires expertise. Instead of getting overwhelmed, agencies can approach this strategically by:Partnering with specialists: Collaborate with freelance CGI artists or specialized studios for complex projects.
Investing in focused training: Encourage team members to develop skills in specific areas of CGI that align with your agency's services.
Starting smart: Begin with simpler CGI applications like photorealistic product mockups before tackling full-blown animated campaigns.
Empower your campaigns with CGI and Formlio
CGI is an essential part of the modern advertising toolkit, offering unparalleled creative freedom, cost efficiency, and scalability. By embracing trends like AI-driven workflows and immersive AR/VR experiences, your agency can deliver innovative campaigns that captivate audiences and drive business growth.
When it's time to pitch those big ideas, the practicality and visual appeal of your presentation are what win client trust. Formlio is designed for this moment. You can create a more impactful and engaging proposal by embedding your CGI video renders directly into the page, allowing your client to see your vision in full motion within a single, professional experience. This avoids the impracticality of sending clients to external links, a common issue with static PDFs. By combining this powerful visual storytelling with clear timelines and interactive pricing, Formlio gives you the most practical and visually stunning way to present your CGI campaigns.