The Revisionists: Using AI For Creative With TV Veteran Michael Shields
One of the hottest areas of innovation in all of media is using AI for creative development. Just this week we’ve seen major announcements from Roku and Amazon that they will incorporate AI creative into their offering. Meta has called it the future. There is only one problem at the moment: AI can give people 7 fingers and change the ethnicity of a character mid scene!
In this episode ofThe Revisionists, I spoke to Michael Shields, founder and CEO of Vica who not only has built a platform that delivers cinematic commercials without the hallucinations, but has a technology infrastructure for finding the right audiences to watch them.
Jason Damata: What is Vica?
Michael Shields: Vica is a next-generation, technology-driven creative agency that has evolved into a full-service shop offering both creative production and media buying. Our focus has been on a new breed of video advertisers—small and emerging businesses that have never had access to connected TV advertising because of the high costs associated with producing creative. We started with local businesses in the U.S., but have since expanded to include DTC brands, challenger brands, and even B2B marketers.
Jason Damata: You call it an agency, but I think of it like a SaaS platform. How do you see it?
Michael Shields: We use the word “agency” because we still create commercials, buy media, and measure outcomes. But the way we do it is technology-driven. Increasingly, our model looks SaaS-like. We work not only with individual brands but also with channel partners, such as private equity firms that represent groups of small businesses, as well as inventory holders like streaming services with SMB-focused sales organizations.
Jason Damata: Who is this really built for?
Michael Shields: Our system is designed for advertisers who’ve never seen their brand in sight, sound, and motion before. We wanted it to be very low lift. Early customers just submitted a URL—or even nothing at all. Our proprietary scraper searches the web, social media, and competitor listings to build a complete picture of a business: customer segments, differentiators, and value propositions. That intelligence then drives our creative process.
Jason Damata: Walk me through that process.
Michael Shields: It starts with a business URL or social handle. From there, our scraper collects and analyzes everything available online, which we pass through large language models to give structure. That data informs scripts, imagery, and targeting. The system produces multiple scripts, storyboards, and voiceovers—four of each, typically. At every step, artists can intervene, adjust tone, swap characters, or refine visuals. The result is a hybrid: automation for speed and scale, but with creative oversight so the ads still feel authentic to the business.
Jason Damata: Why did you start Vica?
Michael Shields: I’ve worked on new TV business models since 2002—at MTV, Fox, and elsewhere. I helped launch the first ad servers, digital sales departments, and brand integrations, all the way through TV Everywhere and today’s streaming ecosystem. One thing that always stuck with me was: why don’t we see more local businesses advertising on TV? The barriers were twofold—creative was too expensive, and media buying too complex. Vica solves both: we make the commercial and execute a tightly targeted buy so there’s no waste.
Jason Damata: How has it been going so far?
Michael Shields: Better than expected. Small businesses already had access to middle-funnel tools like Google and Meta, but they lacked affordable top-of-funnel exposure in sight, sound, and motion. We provide both the creative and the analytics, pixeling websites and tracking conversions to connect CTV exposures with business outcomes.
Take The Funplex amusement park in New Jersey [ad embedded below]: across four campaigns this year, they spent $26,000 on creative and media with us. That drove $488,000 in measurable bookings and ticket sales. We’ve seen similar double-digit returns with dentists, daycare centers, and even basement waterproofing companies. It suggests that connected TV, with precise local targeting, might be the most effective venue for small businesses to tell their brand stories.
Jason Damata: That’s impressive. Sounds like you’re democratizing television.
Michael Shields: Exactly. Our mission is to make television advertising accessible, affordable, and effective for businesses that never thought it was possible.
