AI Changed Advertising. We Changed Our Model
AI didn't knock politely on the door of advertising. It walked in, rearranged the furniture, and rewired the whole house. The question isn't whether agencies will use AI. It's whether they'll adapt fast enough to matter.
At StrawberryFrog, we decided to find out what happens when you rebuild an agency from the inside out - no hierarchy, no silos, no “AI department.” Just one flat, creative model that moves at the speed of culture, powered by smart tools and smarter humans.
To prove it wasn't just theory, we built a fully playable, AI-assisted video game called OUTLEAP - conceived, designed, and shipped in a matter of weeks.
Here's how our flat AI model works - the structure, the stack, and the lessons you can steal for your own team.
Why Traditional AI Departments Don't Work Anymore
Most agencies met the rise of AI with a familiar reflex: build a department, buy the toys, and bury it all under layers of process.
The result?
- Cost bloat. Full-time AI hires that drain budgets before a single idea hits the wall.
- Lag. Every tool, model, or prompt gets trapped in weeks of approval loops.
- Cultural drag. The spark dies in meetings before it ever reaches the work.
AI let us go from idea to execution in record time, getting work live in feeds in a way a traditional model never could.
- Charlie Arreola-Quiroz, Associate Creative Director
We realized we didn't need an AI department. We needed a creative network - a living, flexible system that lets strategists and creatives pull in the right AI talent, at the right time, for the right leap.
Our Flat AI Model
Instead of stacking teams vertically, we flattened everything. One creative layer, fully collaborative, no silos.
Every strategist, creative, and producer at StrawberryFrog is AI-fluent. But when we need deep specialization - a model tuner, a coder, a data artist - we tap our global network on demand. No overhead. No waiting for approvals. Just the right brains at the right moment.
Core Structure
| Role | Function | AI Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Creative | Concepting, storytelling | Generative ideation, scripting prompts. Animation and visuals |
| Production | Execution, QA | AI-aided motion, post, and optimization |
| Specialists | Deep expertise | Model tuning, code, or data design |
This structure lets us form small, autonomous “micro-squads” that spin up around a single problem, solve it fast, and disband when done. No bureaucracy. No idle teams. Just creative velocity.
Proof in Play: How We Built the AI Game “OUTLEAP”
We wanted to stress-test our flat model on something wild - something that demanded speed, craft, and chaos in equal measure.
So we didn't build a deck. We built a video game.
The Challenge
Create a digital experience that captures a cultural idea in real time, powered by AI for ideation, art, and storytelling.
The Approach
- Creatives (internal) co-developed characters and narratives alongside generative tools. They also did the animation and visuals.
- AI coder (external) joined through our freelance network.
- Producers (external) ran the whole operation inside a six-week sprint.
The Result
OUTLEAP became both a playable metaphor for transformation and living proof that our flat model scales far beyond campaigns.
The takeaway: agility beats hierarchy.
When you remove bureaucratic layers, creative energy flows faster.
We built and shipped a fully playable game in the time most agencies spend scoping a pitch.
The Tools & Stack Behind It
AI doesn't replace people. It supercharges them.
Our flat model works because we blend the right human instincts with the right machine tools.
| Stage | Core Tools | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Insight | Cultural trend scrapers, language models | Faster strategic briefs |
| Ideation | Text-to-image, co-writing assistants | Visual + conceptual iteration |
| Execution | Asset-generation, motion AI, post QA | Faster delivery |
| Optimization | Testing, analytics AI | Real-time improvement |
Each tool fits inside a lean sprint - low setup, high impact, and no engineering bureaucracy.
Our stack is deliberately simple: light enough to move quickly, powerful enough to outleap expectations.
Our Vendor & Freelance Network Strategy
Instead of hoarding full-time AI engineers, we built a global partner network. That's the secret weapon behind our flat model - scale without bloat.
How It Works
- We issue briefs to the network.
- Specialists join sprints remotely and hand off through a shared pipeline.
- Each sprint wraps with QA and a quick learning capture, so the next run moves even faster.
This model keeps us lean, fluid, and plugged into the world's best talent - without ever slowing the creative leap.
Assets You Can Copy
We didn't just build a new model - we built tools so others can move faster too. Everything we created for this transformation is now open for other teams to adapt, remix, and make their own.
Because when creativity scales, everyone wins - and everyone gets to outleap a little faster.
Ready to Build Your Own Flat AI Framework?
If you're trying to embed AI into your organization without adding layers or complexity, we can help.
We've already done it - across strategy, creative, and innovation workflows - and we've built the templates and training to get you moving faster.
👉 Let's talk about your AI framework
Whether you're redesigning your org, prototyping an AI-driven product, or upskilling your team, StrawberryFrog can help you move from idea to implementation - fast, flat, and purpose-led.
We believe the best frameworks don't add structure - they unlock motion.
What We Learned
A few truths stood out once the dust (and code) settled:
- Flat beats hierarchical when speed is survival.
- AI only adds value when humans stay in control of meaning.
- Purpose-led agility scales across everything - from campaigns to games.
We'll keep sharing the next wave of benchmarks - and maybe the next game - as the tools evolve.
Because for us, this isn't just about building smarter systems. It's about proving that when creativity leads, everything else leaps further.