AI's Next Move: Uniting Creative and Media Buys

For decades, a formidable wall has divided the advertising world. On one side stood the creative agencies, the architects of brand narrative and visual identity. On the other, the media buyers, the masters of placement and performance. This separation, while foundational to the industry's structure, has always been a source of friction, inefficiency, and missed opportunity. That wall is now beginning to crumble.

In a move that signals a seismic shift in how advertising is conceived, created, and deployed, AI content platform Rembrand is preparing to publicly test a new protocol that could finally fuse these two worlds into a single, automated workflow. This isn't just another AI tool; it's the blueprint for a new advertising paradigm, driven by intelligent, autonomous agents.

The Dawn of the Agentic Ad Ecosystem

At the heart of this revolution is the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a server designed to communicate directly with AI agents to generate advertisements. Set for public testing next week, the MCP is a critical component of the much broader Advertising Context Protocol (AdCP) initiative, an ambitious project launched earlier in October.

The AdCP aims to create an open interface connecting disparate advertising platforms, enabling them to communicate through natural-language interactions. Think of it as a universal translator and operating system for the ad tech world, allowing different systems to collaborate seamlessly. The ultimate goal is breathtaking in its simplicity and profound in its implications: a single, unified process where an AI agent can generate the creative, recognize the appropriate media context, and execute the entire media buy in one fluid motion.

This is the essence of "agentic AI" in advertising. It moves beyond simple generative tools that create images or copy on command. Instead, it empowers autonomous agents to understand objectives, strategize, create, and transact on behalf of a brand. The MCP test, led by a consortium including Rembrand, is the first tangible step toward making this integrated, agent-driven ecosystem a reality.

The Architect: Omar Tawakol's Vision

Orchestrating this movement is Omar Tawakol, the CEO and founder of Rembrand. Tawakol is no stranger to industry-shaping innovation, with a resume that includes co-founding data marketplace BlueKai (acquired by Oracle) and AI meeting assistant Voicea (acquired by Cisco). His background is steeped in AI and multiagent collaboration, giving him a unique perspective on the technology's potential.

Tawakol frames this initiative not as a product launch, but as the "start of a movement." He envisions a future where agentic ad creation and agentic media buying evolve in parallel, feeding and reinforcing each other. This isn't about automating isolated tasks; it's about building an intelligent, interconnected system that rethinks the advertising workflow from the ground up.

His leadership lends significant weight to the AdCP initiative. It signals that this is not a theoretical exercise but a practical, commercially-driven effort to solve one of the industry's most persistent and costly challenges: the disjointed nature of creative development and media execution.

Redefining the Market, Not Replacing It

The immediate question for many industry veterans is whether this agentic model is a direct assault on the programmatic advertising establishment. Tawakol's answer is nuanced and strategic. He posits that this new approach will not compete head-on with programmatic auctions but will instead serve "underserved areas of the ecosystem."

This suggests a democratizing effect. The current auction-based system inherently favors scale and budget, often leaving niche content creators and smaller advertisers struggling for visibility. An agentic model could level the playing field, allowing AI to identify and capitalize on opportunities that might not receive "fair treatment" in the high-stakes, high-speed programmatic marketplace.

To illustrate the concept, Tawakol points to an existing trend exemplified by platforms like The Trade Desk. Since June, advertisers have been able to use CPM payments not just for impressions, but to have an AI company generate creative assets as an embedded part of the media buy. This workflow, which integrates creative development directly into the transaction, is a crucial precursor to the fully autonomous model the AdCP proposes. It proves the market is already moving toward collapsing the creative and media functions into a single, streamlined process.

Two Futures for Ad Creation

Looking ahead to 2026, Tawakol foresees two distinct pathways for how agentic ad creation will manifest, catering to different segments of the market.

The first path involves major brands using AI to augment and enhance human-generated content. In this scenario, AI acts as a hyper-intelligent co-pilot for creative teams. It can generate endless variations, optimize assets for different platforms in real-time, or place branded products seamlessly into video content. The core creative idea remains human-led, but its execution and amplification are supercharged by AI.

The second path is perhaps even more transformative, targeting smaller advertisers. This involves the use of "pure" generative AI, untouched by human intervention, to create entire campaigns from scratch. For businesses that lack the resources for a creative agency or an in-house production team, this unlocks access to a level of marketing sophistication that was previously unattainable. It promises to lower the barrier to entry for effective advertising, empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs and businesses.

Beyond Paid Media: The Ripple Effect

The implications of this technology extend far beyond the realm of paid advertising. Tawakol notes that agentic ad creation and generative AI techniques will inevitably influence the production of organic content as well. The same agents that create ads could help brands and creators develop blog posts, social media updates, and video content that is more engaging and contextually relevant.

This blurs the line between marketing and content creation. An AI agent could analyze audience engagement data to suggest new content pillars, generate scripts for short-form videos, and even edit and publish the final product. The efficiency and intelligence of the paid media ecosystem will bleed into the organic, creating a more holistic and data-driven approach to communication.

As Rembrand prepares to switch on its MCP server for public testing, the advertising industry stands at a crossroads. The long-held division between the art of creative and the science of media is no longer tenable. This test represents a bold effort to automate and unify these processes, powered by AI agents capable of thinking, creating, and transacting. The result could be a more efficient, accessible, and intelligent advertising landscape, forever changing how brands connect with their audiences.