Prada Spends Big on Pencil and Paper to Counter AI Ads
The Italian fashion house hired a veteran Disney animator to create a hand-drawn holiday campaign starring Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke.
By Javier Cabrera ·
Prada is betting on pencil and paper to stand out in a holiday market increasingly saturated with artificial intelligence. The Italian fashion house released its 2026 campaign on Wednesday night, featuring hand-drawn animation created by veteran Disney animator John Pomeroy. The project stars Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chen Haoyu, and Luther Ford.
Titled Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand, the campaign blends live-action photography with traditional illustration. Creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons conceived the project to place the actors inside a whimsical winter wonderland. In one scene, Sink encounters a group of mice carrying a polka-dot loafer. Another image shows Hawke walking through a snowy forest with an animated fox.
Pomeroy led a team of artists to create the characters and landscapes using hand-drawing techniques. His career spans decades, including work on Disney films such as Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, and The Land Before Time. Photographer Glen Luchford captured the actors with lighting and angles designed to match the illustrated environments.
Pomeroy explained the rationale in a behind-the-scenes video released by Prada. He stated that hand-drawn animation is used to show the value in the human touch. He added that handcrafted work is still alive in the world today.
The campaign arrives as the advertising industry leans heavily on generative tools. A 2026 report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that nearly two-thirds of digital video ad buyers now use generative AI in creative production. That figure is up from roughly half in 2025. Coca-Cola faced backlash for using AI in its holiday commercials for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025.
This release continues Prada’s recent focus on cinematic storytelling. Last year’s holiday campaign, A Winter’s Tale, also featured Hawke in a winter setting photographed by Luchford. However, that project relied on conventional live-action imagery. This year’s installment replaces that style with an illustrated fantasy.
The campaign includes still images, short films, and behind-the-scenes footage. All materials are available on Prada’s website.
Source: Variety
