New Zealand telecom company Skinny Mobile created an AI clone of its happiest customer, Liz Wright, who won a competition to become the brand’s digital ambassador.
Using advanced AI, VFX, and voice replication, Liz’s clone can adapt to various characters and media formats, enabling cost-effective, versatile advertising while maintaining a personal connection.
Speaking to , Colenso BBDO CCO Simon Vicars shares Liz’s emotional reaction to being chosen, delves into the striking realism of the AI technology, and explains her active involvement in shaping its use.
He also highlights the campaign’s ethical considerations and firmly states that Liz is irreplaceable in future iterations of the brand platform.
Simon> Probably a mix of disbelief and relief. It was a great moment to share with her in an edit suite. We all love Liz so much. We wanted her to love it. Showing Liz the first edit was much scarier than showing our clients.
Simon> The thing that surprised us the most was the quality of the output. It was almost impossible to tell the difference between the real Liz and her clones. So, for the launch ad, we put the render of her clone back through Runway to give it a more AI vibe.
Simon> The creative teams will work on ideas. Then we go to the client, and then we go to Liz. We’ve got some rules we’ve all agreed on. But the most exciting thing about AI is the limitless opportunities it gives us, so we’re careful not to be too careful.
Simon> The ‘use of AI’ and the ‘creative use of AI’ are two very different things. So I’m sure there will be more and more AI ambassadors in advertising soon. Will they have a great reason for being AI? Probably not.
Simon> Liz is a true partner in this idea. She gets unlimited calls, texts and data for life, and we get the world’s greatest low-cost brand ambassador. She genuinely loves Skinny, having been with them from day one. She also calls a spade a spade, so if we cross any lines, she can use her unlimited minutes to call us.
Simon> Because of the body mapping and visual data we have of Liz, she can be rendered into any character in any scenario. The pipeline of work we have coming is exciting and deeply strange.
Simon> Never. Liz for life.