The Content Cocktail Hour · Jonathan Gandolf

How Creativity and Storytelling Set You Apart in a Sea of AI Content with David Ebner, Content Workshop

·23 min·2 clips

David Ebner warns that relying solely on data will prevent you from ever creating anything new in marketing.

This episode of The Content Cocktail Hour features host Jonathan Gandolf and returning guest David Ebner, founder of the brand storytelling agency Content Workshop. They analyze a collaborative marketing campaign they executed together on LinkedIn. The campaign centered on staging a public, playful disagreement or "feud" over the topic of ghostwriting to generate engagement. Ebner explains the concept was inspired by the strong reactions to his previous post arguing that AI is poor at writing cohesive stories. He references a video of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone discussing narrative flow as a key weakness for AI. Gandolf shares insights from a data scientist friend, noting AI-generated text tends to use fewer unique words and more filler while jamming in more information, unlike human storytelling which repeats core themes. A major insight is that influence, built on trust, is the primary reason people choose to consume content. Ebner argues that while AI can efficiently produce informational or "binary" content, it fails at content aimed at helping someone understand *how* to solve a problem, which requires traditional storytelling techniques. He posits that great marketing involves pattern disruption, something AI, built on identifying patterns, cannot authentically replicate. The hosts agree that proprietary data and unique perspectives remain areas where human-created content can outshine AI. Ebner predicts the future will demand more creativity as AI floods the market with "least common denominator" content. He believes foundational content like blogs and in-depth industry reports will persist, but the most memorable work will be creative pieces that are difficult to measure. He shares an example of a successful, hard-to-measure campaign involving shipping custom-engraved milk jugs to prospects. The episode concludes with Ebner's unpopular opinion: marketers should not always limit themselves to only doing work that is easily measurable. The tone is conversational and collegial, blending practical marketing analysis with broader philosophical musings on creativity. This episode would appeal to B2B marketers, content strategists, and anyone interested in using storytelling and creative campaigns to stand out in an AI-saturated landscape. Listeners seeking strictly tactical, data-driven marketing advice might find the advocacy for less-measurable, creative work less applicable.

As heard by us

A solid case for storytelling when AI makes everyday content easier to produce.

Jonathan Gandolf and David Ebner spend the episode on a problem marketers keep running into: if AI can make plenty of content, what still makes a brand feel like itself?

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Why you'd press play

If your content sounds efficient but forgettable, this gives you a sharper angle on why stories still cut through.

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