Steak-umm warns of dangers of deepfakes in ‘DeepSteaks’ prank video

Steak-umm has an unlikely history of educating people about misinformation, going back to its Twitter threads during the pandemic that raised red flags about the mainstreaming of fringe conspiracies. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Now, the frozen beef brand is taking aim at another form of misinformation—deepfakes, which use artificial intelligence to create deceptive video and/or audio imitations of a person without their knowledge or consent. The rise of generative AI has made deepfakes easier to produce lately—as Steak-umm demonstrates in a compelling and amusing prank video that rolls out Tuesday. The video, called “DeepSteaks,” created by Steak-umm agency Tombras, shows a group of vegans participating in what they think is an ordinary consumer focus group—but which turns out to be quite an elaborate and disturbing prank indeed. Dooley Tombras, president of Tombras, told Ad Age that with deepfakes on the rise, the time was right for a demo. And Steak-umm, he said—whose “100% real” product positioning fits thematically with the fight against misinformation—is one of the few brands with the credibility to do so. “Anytime something fake is happening, we’ve got permission to jump in on it,” Tombras said. “We’ve seen nonprofits talk about deepfakes, but we haven’t seen brands do it. And what’s out there is mostly focused on global leaders. The public is not educated on the fact that everyday people, if they’ve uploaded video of themselves to social media, can easily and cheaply get deepfaked.” The agency wasn’t sure exactly how to tackle the topic creatively. In fact, at first they really just loved the “DeepSteaks” name. “Normally you’ll hear a great idea from a team, but it won’t have a great name. This kind of went the opposite way,” said Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer of Tombras. “Then we landed on this thought—what if we did something with everyday people, as a way of talking about where these technologies can go? It’s not just celebrities. And it’s not just video—it’s voice. You can make a voice sound exactly like somebody, which is scary.” Testing the technology The project presented an array of production and tech challenges. They brought in Jason Woliner, who made “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” to direct the video. And they rehearsed for weeks with different technologies—to see how quickly they could turn around convincing deepfakes using raw interview footage and off-the-shelf tools. “Our first tests were taking an hour, which wasn’t going to work,” said Juan Tubert, the agency’s chief technology officer. “We experimented with different tools. You can do voice cloning with only a minute of recording—it does accents really well and everything. For the video, we used a combination of AI models, and we did some video editing ourselves. Eventually we were able to turn it around in minutes.” The resulting deepfakes aren’t perfect—but that was the point. “You’ve probably seen the deepfake Tom Cruise, where they’ve trained the AI models for days. We didn’t have that luxury,” said Tubert. “There are other tools where the deepfakes look really, really fake—that didn’t work either. So we were trying to find a balance.” Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here “We could spend a month working on the videos in post, but that wouldn’t feel dangerous to people,” said Tombras. “The point is, anybody can get deepfaked who’s got their footage on the internet, and it can be done in 20 minutes. The audio is almost perfect. And the video, on mobile, is enough to trick people. It’s scary.” A shoot where anything could happen Woliner cast 18 real people for the video—probably more than they needed, but they wanted to be safe, as there were so many unknowns going into the shoot. “We did very little prep [with the cast] because you’re trying not to give the idea away,” said Chad Hopenwasser, chief production officer at Tombras. “There was great energy on the shoot. Juan and his team had all these timers going. We were running around. It was really a well-oiled machine. And then, of course, we had to actually make a good vegan sandwich—those kinds of production things, we had fun with.” “We had production, technology, creative and legal all together on set,” said Benjamin. “We don’t know if it’s going to work. Are they going to get worked up? Will they even care at all? You have no idea. To me, those are the most exciting ideas.” In the end, many of the participants did indeed get worked up, as they struggled to make sense of what they were seeing with the deepfakes. “They were very confused,” Tombras said. “Some of them were very worried we actually had them eat a meat sandwich—which of course we did not. There was a lot of tension, but really, that just shows how real this is—the power of the technology, how scary it is, how legitimately confused and concerned these people were when they saw themselves deepfaked.” Tombras’ favorite reaction came from one woman who got particularly alarmed. “She said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, but whatever it is, this had better not be used as an advertisement,’” Tombras said. “But when she learned what it was all about, she was like, ‘Oh my God, I want to be a part of this.’ She signed the waiver and was on board. It was cool to see the whole flow of people’s emotions during the process.” The participants’ reactions are a big part of the video’s entertainment value, but they’re more than that—they also drive home the point. “At the beginning of the day, I was thinking, ‘Gosh, this is going to be a long day if nobody reacts,’” said Benjamin. “Their reactions helped us. Seeing how they feel helps us feel that way. Yes, they got worked up—but anybody would be worked up if they saw themselves and heard themselves that way.” Dove got similar reactions last year when it used deepfake technology to show mothers giving “toxic” beauty advice to their daughters—advice that actually comes from influencers. Where purpose meets branding Steak-umm will be distributing the video across its significant social footprint—on platforms including X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram Reels, TikTok—in pursuit of organic virality. “The hope is that it’s provocative enough, and applies to almost every human being in America, that it will get a lot of our earned media and a lot of shares to get scale on the back end,” said Tombras. It also continues Steak-umm’s continuing efforts to address serious political issues, particularly misinformation. Those efforts began under its prior agency Allebach Communications and have continued with Tombras, which won the account last year. One of Tombras’ first efforts for Steak-umm was creating the Meataversity of Steak-umm ahead of last year’s midterm elections, taking aim at misinformation in the metaverse. The new video continues the crusade, pointing viewers to DeepSteaks.ai to sign a petition supporting the DEEP FAKES Accountability Act—a bill that was re-introduced in Congress this fall after failing in 2019. For Steak-umm, which also has a playful side in much of its advertising, this kind of serious messaging has earned it a unique place in the political landscape. “People actually want to hear Steak-umm’s perspective on things,” said Benjamin. “It’s not even like, ‘Oh, I want to be entertained by their channel’ or ‘I want to see their ad.’ It’s like, ‘I want to hear Steak-umm’s take on this.’ Which is the oddest thing ever, but somehow they have earned that.” The brand’s consistent and relatable tone, developed over time, allows it to take a stand on issues while also pushing product, Tombras added. “We want to do both,” he said. “[‘DeepSteaks’] is a purpose thing, but at the end of the day, going back to the honesty and the irony of the Twitter account, we’re very honest and upfront about the fact that we’re shilling frozen beef, too. At Steak-umm, they believe this is a good thing, but it also gets the Steak-umm name out there, and builds awareness and brand love. People are going to remember that at the grocery store, even though it’s a purpose-first initiative.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Steak-umm warns of dangers of deepfakes in ‘DeepSteaks’ prank video

Featured Stories