# Employee-Focused Expertise Ads The New Barnes and Noble Ads Favor Humans Over AI By Justin Lam | Published 2018-12-11 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/barnes-and-noble-ads References: [adweek](https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/barnes-noble-promotes-booksellers-over-algorithms-to-get-shoppers-in-stores/) & [thedrum](https://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/havas-barnes-noble-nobody-knows-books-we-do) More and more stores are turning to [AI to aid in customer recommendations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shopsense-ai) but these new Barnes and Noble ads show that the bookseller is focusing more on the [expertise of its employees](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/abuela-intelligence). These booksellers become the primary focus of the ad campaign, which includes eight 15-second spots celebrating the brand's 23,000 booksellers across the country. The Barnes and Noble ads also highlight the actual brick-and-mortar stores, rather than any online shopping options. When creating the Barnes and Noble ads, the bookseller worked closely with the France-based advertising company [Havas](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jblgoestopless). Havas was instrumental in choosing to focus on employees and are "totally passionate about whatever it is you are shopping for,” according to Tim Maleeny, Havas chief strategy officer. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 0.7/10 - Popularity: 2% | Activity: 11% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/commercials) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Employee-focused Ads:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leveraging the expertise and knowledge of employees to create personalized and immersive shopping experiences for customers. - **Human-centric Marketing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Shifting the focus from AI and technology to highlight the value and authenticity of human employees in advertising campaigns. - **Brick-and-mortar Emphasis:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Capitalizing on the unique advantages of physical stores by showcasing them in advertisements and promoting the in-store experience. ### Who This Affects Most - **Retail:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrating human expertise with technology to enhance customer experience and differentiate from online competitors. - **Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing creative and impactful campaigns that emphasize the human element and establish emotional connections with consumers. - **Publishing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Highlighting the value of knowledgeable booksellers in physical bookstores to attract customers seeking personalized recommendations and expertise. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Human-Centric Marketing Agencies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/literal-humans.md) - [AI-Crafted Banking Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-ads-by-bank.md) - [AI-Powered Digital Employees](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/product-genius.md) - [Musical AI Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fiverr-nobody-cares.md) - [AI-Assisted Business Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/50-states-50-stories.md) - [Human Connection-Centric Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/keep-commerce-human.md) - [AI Travel Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/trivago-artificial-intelligence.md) - [AI Marketing Storytelling](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/coca-cola-ai.md) - [Artificial Intelligence Retail Kiosks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-human.md)