Why Generic Visuals Don’t Sell in 2025 (And What to Do Instead)
- Austeja Siniute
- Oct 3
- 1 min read
The Problem with Generic Visuals
For years, brands relied on stock photos or “safe” product shots. That era is over. Consumers are desensitized. They’ve seen that smiling stock model a hundred times. They know when something feels fake.
Worse - generic visuals actually damage trust. In e-commerce, trust = conversions.
Why This Shift Happened
Content Overload: People scroll through thousands of ads weekly. Generic = invisible.
AI Raised the Bar: Now even small brands can afford world-class visuals, so generic looks cheap.
Authenticity Is Currency: Gen Z especially demands originality. They’ll skip anything that feels like a stock template.
What to Do Instead
Create Bespoke AI Visuals: Custom-tailored to your product, setting, and vibe.
Test Bold Creative: Don’t be afraid of surreal — a perfume bottle floating in a dreamscape is more memorable than a plain bottle-on-white shot.
Tell Quick Stories: Show the journey, not just the product. Example: messy desk → product appears → workspace transforms.
Match the Customer’s World: If your audience is young professionals in Vilnius, show your product in that context, not in a random stock apartment.
Case Example
A DTC skincare brand replaced generic “model with cream” stock photos with AI visuals of their product in futuristic, Apple-style scenes. Result? 35% higher click-through rates and double the time on site.
👉 The formula is simple: Generic = ignored. Branded = remembered.
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