Brands used to rent a celebrity’s likeness for a campaign. The TV spot was shot, photos were taken and the rental agreement ended when the cameras stopped rolling. Now, marketers are turning talent into always on, hyperpersonalized digital personas using AI.Take The Coca-Cola Company. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola announced the launch of a “José vs. Mourinho” social content series. But instead of featuring José Mourinho, the incoming manager of the Real Madrid soccer team, the series will be hosted by Mourinho’s AI clone.
From celeb rentals to always-on digital personas
Mourinho’s so-called digital twin is the brain child of Coca-Cola, Footballco media company, and entertainment studio and management company GRAiL. It’s powered by Google Cloud. The team worked directly with Mourinho to capture new audio and video to build the technology, said a spokesperson for the brand.
The social series will live across Footballco’s global football media and culture brand, GOAL. It’s in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, with subtitles in 10 languages. In all, more than 200 pieces of content will be produced and distributed during the World Cup beginning June 11.
The digital twin is powered by a human war room, with representatives from Mourinho’s camp to ensure brand safety. Meanwhile, others involved in the campaign watch matches, script post-match reactions, run them through brand and talent approvals and then use AI to deliver pre-approved commentary in Mourinho’s likeness. Financial and contractual agreements for Mourinho’s digital twin were not disclosed.
