Trends
The Future of Commercials: 5 Trends for 2026
The 30-second spot is still around, but plenty of other formats have joined it. Here is what's changing.
I spend my days shooting commercials and watching the market shift under my feet. These are the five shifts that in 2026 make the difference between a brand remembered and one scrolled past.
1. Generative AI enters pre-production
In 2026 AI speeds up the director's work: storyboards in minutes, virtual scouting, moodboards that update during the briefing. The savings are mostly logistical, and those who use it well get more time to think.
2. Micro-formats: less is (finally) more
The dominant format is no longer the 30-second TV spot. It's the 6–15 seconds that work in vertical feeds. But "short" doesn't mean "easy": the narrative density required by a brief format is higher, not lower. You need ideas that land in the blink of an eye.
3. Radical authenticity
Audiences have grown tired of overly glossy images. They prefer real people with real reactions to an actor pretending to use a product. The trend is towards honest images, supported by production that does them justice.
4. Brand as content platform
Commercials are no longer interruptions. The smartest brands are becoming publishers: producing series, recurring formats, content that audiences actively seek out. The spot becomes an episode, not an intrusion.
5. Hybrid production: live + smart post
The boundary between production and post-production is getting thinner. You shoot live on real sets, and the finishing (colour, light VFX, format adaptation) uses tools that cut the time while leaving creative control with the director.
What this means for producers
It means value no longer lives in isolated technical capability. It's in vision: knowing what to tell, to whom, in what format. Technology is a multiplier, but only if there's clear direction behind it. Otherwise it multiplies the void. It's the same principle we apply when shooting a commercial: the idea first, then the tool.