Mazda Uses Test Your Ad Pro to Validate an AI-Driven Creative Concept
When Boundless and Mazda were faced with an unexpected creative challenge, the goal was clear: to deliver a compelling video animatic at speed, under intense time pressure, and within tight resource constraints. The moment called for a new way of thinking, one that could maintain creative ambition while moving beyond the limitations of traditional production timelines.
Mazda’s agency team knew the usual approach would require multiple stages, from sourcing illustration support to building, animating, and layering in voiceover and music. But with only days to respond, Boundless began exploring an unfamiliar but promising frontier in AI-driven visual prototyping. With a spirit of experimentation and a focus on agility, the team set out to rethink how early-stage creative work could take shape, opening up new possibilities for faster, more flexible production.
“We were faced with a challenge: deliver a video animatic in just two days, with no budget. Our usual process would take at least 10 days, involving illustration, animation, VO, and music. So the team stepped out of its comfort zone and into AI, something we were still new to at the time. After hours of learning, prompting, and refining, we were able to generate visuals quickly and meet the deadline with a strong animatic. That ability to iterate rapidly didn’t just help in the moment, it completely shifted how we approach prototyping and creative production, especially when paired with early testing to sense check ideas before final film.”
Roanna Williams, CCO Boundless
To sense check its AI-driven creative approach, Mazda partnered with System1 and turned to Test Your Ad Pro to understand how the animatic resonated with both nationally representative audiences and target consumers in South Africa, before progressing into final film.
Designed to support fast-moving creative development, Test Your Ad Pro was ideally suited to the team’s tight timelines. The platform provided a rich, diagnostic view of performance, including scene-by-scene emotional response, strength of branding, short-term sales potential, and long-term growth potential. It also captured spontaneous associations and consumer verbatims, giving the team a clear understanding of how the creative was landing with real consumers.
“Working to an incredibly tight timeline, we needed a fast way to bring an early animatic to life and sense check the idea before final production. Pairing rapid AI prototyping with early testing helped us move quickly, gather clear audience feedback, and build confidence in the final iteration.”
Roanna Williams, CCO Boundless
With clear, actionable insight from Test Your Ad Pro, Mazda and Boundless were able to shape the work confidently in development, identifying focused opportunities for refinement while preserving the elements that were already resonating strongly. The platform provided fast, practical guidance that supported the creative process and helped ensure the final film would remain emotionally engaging, distinctive, and memorable.
Among both nationally representative audiences and a custom segment of SUV drivers, the early-stage asset performed encouragingly well. It earned a strong Star Rating, demonstrated exceptional short-term sales potential, and delivered strong Fluency, indicating high brand recall. The results gave both brand and agency confidence that, even at an early AI-powered stage, the creative idea was clear, appealing, and supported by enough distinctive brand codes to drive memorability.
Consumer feedback reinforced these strengths, with positive verbatims highlighting the adorable pets, the uniqueness of the execution, and the appeal of the car itself. Where neutrality or low-level pushback emerged, it centered mainly on the animation style, pointing to a clear area for visual refinement.
The finished film maintained the integrity of the original emotional journey, building on the storytelling, characters, and sense of freedom that audiences responded to, while refining the visuals into something more tangible, relatable, and real.
"From my standpoint, the AI-enabled animatic transformed how we aligned and approved creative work internally. Seeing the story come to life so quickly reduced ambiguity, accelerated internal multi-stakeholder approvals, and built early momentum behind the idea. Traditional hand-drawn concepts often take longer to develop and sometimes struggled to generate the same level of excitement and shared understanding. The speed and clarity of the AI approach created stronger engagement and confidence from the outset."
Deolinda Da Costa, Head of Marketing and Communications Mazda
As World leaders in predicting and improving advertising effectiveness, Test Your Ad provides the most accurate/predictive metrics.