AI and celebrity avatars: how the last frontier of marketing works
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Avatars of entertainment and sports stars, generated by artificial intelligence, populate the online world not just in funny deepfakes: these are the same celebrities who are now increasingly using their digital replicas to be replaced in the marketing campaigns of big brands.
Last year, footballer Neymar, just to cite a famous example, has become the testimonial of the Puma brand for a model of sports shoes but in the form of an avatar, created thanks to the MetaHuman app. Jack Nicklaus, the 83-year-old golf legend, has instead reached an agreement with Soul Machines, the company that deals with AI, for the realization of his digital double at the age of 38when he was at the peak of his career, with whom admirers can interact.
In 2021 it was the turn of Deion Sanders, American football starthe virtual version of which, developed by Metaphysic, was used by Procter & Gamble to promote a razor commercial.
Even the world of fashion is involved in this process of virtualisation of public figures: in April, the ex Czech supermodel Eva Herzigova has unveiled, on the occasion of the Metaverse Fashion Week event, its digital clone, also the result of MetaHuman, capable of parading on the virtual catwalk and wearing digital copies of the clothes.
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The business of digital clones
The intention is to take advantage of the new possibilities afforded by AI for commercials or more creative content and, at the same time, expand the business opportunities of brands and celebrities.
Digital duplicates, in the hands of experts, can change their appearance, age or rejuvenate, perform feats that real characters would never be able to do and above all connect with customers via the Web or with an app. In this sense, as argued by Greg Cross, CEO of Soul Machines, innovation driven by artificial intelligence represents “the future of marketing”. Virtual clones are something that is digitally alive, and with which you connect emotionally, have a conversation and interact in real time.
Soul Machines, in this respect, has made agreements with stars and influencers to produce them digital copies capable of connect with fans and be able to get new sources of income from their online presence.
Companies and agencies therefore have more leeway and they can also establish the type and duration of the contracts with greater flexibility and advantages in economic terms.
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Risks and legal problems
However, the advent of virtual doubles, protagonists of digital life instead of real peoplealso involves risks and new problems. Deepfakes of famous personalities have already been used in the advertising sector without the consent of the interested parties. Legally, it would be important to establish criteria and standards for verifying legal ownership and for determining legitimate and illicit uses of clones.
Months ago, Tom Graham, CEO of the startup Metaphysic, was the first to present a request to the US office responsible for the copyright registration of the copy of itselfproduced by artificial intelligence in an attempt to extend the protection of individual intellectual property rights to this sphere.
In general, the danger of an uncontrolled diffusion of avatars and deepfakes, thanks to artificial intelligence software that makes their development easier, is absolutely realistic, so much so as to push even fiction to deal with it. As is the case with the first episode of the last season of the tv series Black Mirrorin which technology is able to reproduce the life of a normal woman in real time, transformed into episodes of a serial broadcast on the small screen thanks to the use of a deepfake with the face of Salma Hayek. Obviously creating havoc and restlessness in her existence and in that of the Mexican actress.
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