Snickers’ AI clone of a soccer legend will give personalized advice to fans

A new Snickers U.K. marketing effort uses AI technology to create personalized videos for fans who have inadvertently scored “own goals.” The candy brand has teamed with legendary soccer coach José Mourinho, whose likeness will be used for an AI-powered clone trained to mimic his personality. Fans will submit written instances of a mishap they’ve made—aka an “own goal”—and the Mourinho bot will respond with a video featuring tailored advice to each submission. A teaser recently posted on Instagram by Snickers shows an example of the type of query the brand is looking to field. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snickers UK (@snickersuk) The effort, developed with Helo and WPP’s T&Pm, speaks to a useful application of generative AI for brands looking to provide deeper engagement with users: personalized content. The technology is capable of generating a virtually limitless amount of media, each instance of which can be geared toward custom pieces of information. Honda in March doled out personalized videos for consumers interested in a new vehicle. Avocados From Mexico and Burger King earlier this year launched personalized activations that produce images of custom guacamole and burger recipes, respectively. In addition to a microsite, fans in the U.K. can access the Mourinho bot on WhatsApp, where their interactions can be shared with friends and larger communities. Influencer partners are supporting the effort by sharing their custom videos on social media. Each video is powered by AI technology provided by ElevenLabs, Synclabs and OpenAI. While Snickers’ tie-up with Mourinho is authorized, the effort gestures to the frightening power of deep fakes, which can mimic real personalities to an uncanny degree. This application of AI has been used in fraudulent advertising to dupe consumers and is expected to play a sizable role in spreading disinformation during this fall’s U.S. presidential election. Like Snickers, Meta has plans to offer consensual deep fake personas paired to celebrities. TikTok recently announced AI-generated avatars that brands can use to build custom avatars based on a spokesperson or mascot. The Mourinho bot builds on Snickers’ “Own Goal” campaign tied to the ongoing UEFA European Championship and Copa América soccer tournaments. In March, Snickers launched “Own Goal” with ads featuring soccer stars providing Snickers bars to hapless fans. Also read: Major brands are marketing around soccer this summer Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Snickers’ AI clone of a soccer legend will give personalized advice to fans

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