This Fujifilm Cannes contender is another master-class from HERO Sydney.
In a world where AI sometimes feels like that overeager new intern who wants to do everything but often does it badly, this week’s Branding In Asia Cannes Contender, the globally awarded Fujifilm Mindography from HERO Sydney, is a breath of fresh, algorithmically perfected air. The Instax Mindography campaign marked a world-first, blending science, emotion, and technology to turn intangible memories into tangible, printed moments.
The campaign follows Nicole Toum, who lost her father in 2018. Researchers, led by Dr. Paul Scotti at Princeton, used fMRI scans and machine learning to train an AI model on Nicole’s brain activity as she viewed childhood photos and recalled memories. Developed by Fujifilm’s Instax and HERO Sydney, the campaign also draws attention to a broader issue: the staggering volume of digital photos—and the memories they hold—that vanish every day.
An estimated 57% of young Australians have lost a cherished digital photo without having a physical copy. But are those memories truly gone forever? The AI then generated visual representations of memories Nicole recalled. Using the Instax Mini Link 3, those reconstructed memories were printed, bringing moments from her past back into physical form. “This is literally cutting-edge, mind-reading research,” said Dr Paul Scotti, of Princeton Neuroscience Institute, who led the experiment. “We scanned Nicole’s brain with Functional MRI as she saw and imagined thousands of images, training our algorithm to recognise her brain patterns. Then when she imagined her memories, the AI could create a visual reconstruction of what she was imagining.”
With Mindography, Instax offers a powerful response to a growing cultural reality—preserving meaningful moments before they disappear into the digital ether. Nicole’s memories became the centerpiece of an exhibition at China Heights Gallery in Sydney, Australia. Reflecting on her experience, Nicole said: “I came in not knowing what to expect. The MRIs were exhausting, but it’s been amazing. Extremely cathartic, joyous… having these memories back, it feels like being home.”
Mindography is less of a tech flex and more of a masterclass in what happens when AI and human creativity actually collaborate, rather than compete. It’s AI done right, not because it’s flashy, but because it knows when to take the wheel and when to get out of the way. And it’s another campaign from HERO that confirms HERO Sydney’s place as Sydney’s Top Creative Advertising Agency.
So, What Is Mindography? At first glance, Mindography might sound like a wellness app or a brain-training exercise endorsed by a Scandinavian minimalist. But it’s something far cooler: an AI-powered photography experience created by Fujifilm that turns thoughts and emotions into beautiful, fully realized photographic art.
That’s right, your thoughts. Captured. Translated. Visualized. No camera required. No filters. No need to find “golden hour.” Just your mental state, beautifully rendered, thanks to biometric readings and a touch of algorithmic wizardry. And unlike some AI art tools that churn out soulless surrealism or uncanny valley horrorscapes, Mindography taps into human nuance.
It’s not trying to guess what “sad” looks like by scraping millions of crying stock photos; it’s detecting your actual emotional response and generating a corresponding image based on the feel, not just the data. It’s emotional intelligence meets artificial intelligence. AI with Restraint? That’s the Real Innovation Where most AI tools operate on the “more is more” principle, adding flair, noise, unnecessary features, and the occasional copyright lawsuit, Mindography excels by knowing what not to do.
It doesn’t try to replace the photographer. It doesn’t attempt to out-human the human. It assists. It amplifies. It listens. Think of it as the difference between a sous-chef and a robot that insists it can “reinvent pasta.” Mindography chops, preps, and seasons. You’re still the chef. But now your spaghetti doesn’t burn while you’re sketching your next idea.
Instead of following the herd of AI-chasers trying to automate every pixel, with this campaign HERO Sydney asked a subtler question: How can we use AI to deepen creativity, not dilute it? The result? A tool that doesn’t just produce content, but provokes reflection.
It transforms the creative process from something outward (aim, shoot, edit) into something inward. It’s innovation with emotional depth, and that’s rare in a field currently obsessed with faster, louder, shinier.
In short: Mindography doesn’t just use AI, it understands it. It applies the technology with taste, empathy, and purpose. So if you’re an agency, brand, or tech firm still funneling your AI budget into soulless chatbots or design tools that “accidentally” mimic six different illustrators, you might want to pull out a notepad. Or, better yet, let Mindography show you what real creative augmentation looks like. Because the future of AI isn’t just about being smart. It’s about being wise.
