One Year of The Ghost Blog
One year, twenty-seven posts, and a craft nobody else was writing about. Ghost reflects on a year of treatment industry insights: what we planned, what surprised us, and why this niche needed a voice.
Treatments by Ghost
We put treatments together.
Client Psychology: How Agencies Really Read Your Treatment
How agencies evaluate treatments under pressure: the cognitive patterns, subconscious signals, and psychological biases that determine which pitches win beyond creative strategy.
Can You 'Hack' a Winning Treatment? The Psychology of Persuasion
Can you “hack” a winning treatment? This article explores the psychology of persuasion in commercial pitch documents — from primacy effect and loss aversion to visual rhythm and strategic repetition — and how subtle cognitive principles help treatments earn a confident yes.
What This Year’s Super Bowl Ad Break Tells Us About the Current State of Our Society, Trends, and Best Films
A sharp, first-impression analysis of the Super Bowl LX 2026 ad break, exploring nostalgia, AI, late capitalism, visual trends and the standout commercials that best captured the cultural moment.
Commercial Film Trends for 2026: An In-Depth Report by Ghost
An in-depth analysis of commercial film trends for 2026, exploring cinematic emotion, multi-frame storytelling, analogue nostalgia, documentary realism, surrealism, and how cultural change is reshaping visual advertising.
What We Learned From a Year in Treatments (2025)
An inside look at what changed in treatments during 2025 — from interactive, web-based experiences and docu-style realism to deeper director involvement, evolving design language, and the impact of AI on narrative development.
How Directors Win Treatments: 2 Essential Steps
A practical 2-step guide for commercial directors on how to win treatment pitches by taking the brief seriously and making agencies feel seen. Learn what clients look for and how to align vision, strategy, and execution to increase your chances of landing the job.
Why We Lowered Our Visual Research Rates
Ghost drops its visual research rates to reflect how AI tools reshaped the craft — but reminds us that human taste and curation still lead the way.
Why Sora 2 Flopped for Commercial Production
In September 2025, OpenAI released Sora 2 — a tool promising to generate realistic video from text prompts. But despite the hype, its impact on commercial production has been limited. This analysis explores why the advertising industry’s response to Sora 2 has been cautious, how its current capabilities fall short of professional standards, and what it means for producers, agencies, and visual researchers navigating the next wave of AI tools.
What Program Should You Use to Build Your Treatment?
A clear-eyed look at the software options for creating director’s treatments — and why the real value lies far beyond the tools.
Who Should Be Paying for the Treatment?
Who should pay for commercial treatments? We break down the hidden costs, unfair practices, and collective solutions shaping the future of ad pitching.
The History of the Commercial Treatment
A deep dive into the surprising history of the commercial treatment — tracing its roots from 1930s Hollywood to the global advertising standard it is today. From reel-based pitching to magazine-style decks, this article explores how a quiet format became the world’s go-to tool for creative alignment and commercial persuasion.
Should Treatments Credit Visual Researchers?
A closer look at the role of visual researchers in treatments—and why acknowledging collaborators can strengthen, not threaten, a director’s vision.
What happens when the pitch starts looking like the delivery?
How AI-generated visuals are reshaping perception in treatments — and why the illusion of finish may be the pitch’s greatest risk.
What’s Taste?
The AI & Creativity Report keeps repeating “taste” like we all agree what it means. At Ghost, we break it down—and ask why it took AI for the industry to start valuing it.
We Used Veo 3 for a Treatment. This Is What Happened.
We tested Google’s Veo 3 for a real client treatment and documented everything — from the visual wins to the uncanny fails. In this hands-on case study, we explore what this new AI video tool gets right, what it misses, and whether it’s ready to replace human-led visual research in commercial treatments.
Design Trends in 2025: A Return to Texture, Type, and Tactility
In 2025, treatment design is rejecting hyper-modern polish in favor of tactile, expressive, and human-centered layouts. This blog post explores emerging design trends—from collage and low hierarchy to serif typography and analogue textures—shaping the look and feel of winning commercial pitches this year.
Image Research: What’s Trending in Photography for 2025
What does photography look like in 2025? From analogue textures to unfiltered emotion, this deep dive explores the biggest trends in image research, helping directors and designers select visuals that feel intentional, current, and full of soul.
AI in Commercial Treatments: Are We Really There Yet?
Explore how generative AI is changing commercial treatments, from Midjourney visuals to AI-generated storytelling. Are we truly ready for AI-driven pitches? Dive into the industry’s current landscape and future possibilities.
Why Good-Looking Treatments Lose Pitches
Why do beautifully designed treatments still lose pitches? This post explores the quiet reasons behind failed pitches — from misreading agency expectations to design that overpowers the narrative — and how strategy, not just style, makes the difference.
What Visual Storytelling in Treatments Looks Like
There’s a difference between laying out a treatment and telling a story through it. This post explores how visual design — from typography to image choices — can carry narrative weight, elevate a director’s voice, and turn a pitch into something truly felt.
How Much Does a Treatment Cost?
A panel on the true cost of treatments sparked a broader conversation about creative labor, ethics, and burnout in advertising. Why are 90% of treatments never produced—and who’s paying the price?
The Art of Going Deep: Why Detailed Treatments Win Pitches
Why do detailed treatments win pitches? Learn how rhythm, emotion, and clarity elevate your writing — with real examples from Visa and Marriott.
When to Use AI in Treatments (Imagery & Text)
A breakdown of when to use AI in treatments — from surreal imagery and storyboard-style layouts to transcription, writing support, and creative brainstorming. Real examples and tips on using AI without losing your voice.
When to Use GIFs, Photos, or Film Frames in a Treatment
Choosing the right visuals for a treatment is essential to crafting a compelling pitch. While GIFs can highlight movement and pacing, still photography sets the tone, and film frames anchor cinematic references. But when should each be used—and when should they be avoided? This article breaks down the best use cases for GIFs, photos, and film frames in treatments, helping directors and researchers curate visuals with purpose and precision.
How to Choose the Right Treatment Crew for You
The right crew isn’t just about skill—it’s about compatibility. Whether you need a researcher with a strong cinematic eye, a writer who can inject emotion and depth, or a designer who understands...
How to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Treatment in 3 Essential Steps
Winning a treatment isn’t just about great visuals or strong writing—it’s about alignment, clarity, and execution. After years of working with top production companies, I’ve identified three key steps that consistently separate winning treatments from forgettable ones: clear briefings, intentional image selects, and timely feedback. This article breaks down how directors and treatment teams can collaborate effectively to increase their chances of securing the job.
The best Super Bowl commercial of 2025
In a way, it’s almost nonsensical to realize that the Super Bowl ad breaks feature some of the most expensive and anticipated commercials of the year. In a world where a 30-second film can cost...
How is AI really impacting the treatment business?
I’ve been in the treatment business on and off since 2011. I’ve seen many trends come and go, and the nature of the craft change as new tools and software emerged. However, none of these developments...
