Etsy’s Ad Is a Love Letter to Human Craft in a Tech-Obsessed World

Etsy has issued a rallying cry in our increasingly automated, tech-obsessed world: Keep commerce human. 

The brand’s new campaign, by agency Orchard Creative, emphasizes its human side, with real sellers starring in the ads. It includes a TV commercial, billboards and social media running across the U.S. and U.K., as well as during the Paris Olympics. 

Etsy released the work today in the same week that it promoted Brad Minor, former global head of brand marketing and communications, to its first chief brand officer. 

The message is an antidote to marketing from other tech giants such as Apple, which came under fire in May for its “Crush” ad that showed creative tools and objects being flattened by a hydraulic press. While Apple’s commercial sparked people’s fears about technology destroying creativity, Etsy aims to illustrate why human creativity has never been more important. 

“Our sellers are the heart of our marketplace, and their unique human touch is what makes Etsy, Etsy,” Minor said in a statement. “We want this campaign to be a love letter to their passion, grit and humanity—a stark contrast to the broader trends of mass production.”

The TV ad is an ode to those sellers. Set to music by Academy Award-nominated composer Jerskin Fendrix, the spot begins by asking: “What does a robot know about love?”

“How to translate that leap inside the human heart into something we can see and hold?” the poetic voiceover continues. “The fingerprints we leave behind show how determined we are to give the world a piece of ourselves.”

Meanwhile, craftspeople are shown molding clay, chopping wood or sewing fabric—images that are juxtaposed with the final shot of a robot in pieces. 

Billboards running in New York and London spotlight makers such as designers Paulien and Dejvi, and jeweler Juliana. 

“[Etsy’s] sellers aren’t just filling orders, they’re conjuring magic from their fingertips and channeling their talents into the creation of objects you can touch and keep,” David Kolbusz, chief creative officer of Orchard Creative, said in a statement.

“Our film isn’t anti-tech, it’s pro-human. It’s a reminder that the things that arrive on your doorstep can come from someplace more meaningful than a fulfillment center. They can come from the homes and studios of the people who labored over their creation.”

Alongside the campaign, Etsy has released a new set of creative standards to clarify sellers’ roles in the products that appear in its marketplace. Each listing page will be labelled under a set of categories that say whether an item was made, designed, sourced or handpicked by the seller.