By Michael B. Kelley
Publication Date: 2026-09-28 20:48:00
Most internet ads are ineffective, Stagwell (STGW) CEO Mark Penn is quick to point out, and AI could make them better.
“Most digital ads are not very good,” Penn, formerly chief strategy officer at Microsoft (MSFT), told Power Players with Brian Sozzi (video above). “You run through hundreds and hundreds of those in a day, and they have virtually no impact on you, by and large.”
Stagwell provides creative, technology, media, and research services to major brands and organizations. Penn, who said he was “really co-CMO” at Microsoft at one point, explained that the potential payoff from AI isn’t doing the old work more cheaply.
“People always make the mistake of thinking that new technology is about simplifying the stuff we used to do,” he said. “New technology is about doing things we always wished we could do, but couldn’t do in the past.”
Read more: Why Mark Penn has no regrets about the viral Sydney Sweeney jeans ad
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