Nestle uses AI to expand a famous Vermeer painting

The world of 'The Milkmaid' grows in campaign from Ogilvy

Published On
Sep 21, 2022

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Nestle has used AI to expand the scene around Vermeer's iconic "The Milkmaid" painting in a new campaign from Ogilvy Paris.

The push promotes Nestle's yogurt brand La Laitière, which for decades has used a milkmaid figure inspired by the artwork in its marketing. 

The company used AI to add a rapt audience leaning in to watch the woman in Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid” painting pour milk. The scene is meant to embody the brand’s new tagline, “C'est si bon de prendre le temps,” which translates to “It’s so pleasurable to take the time.”

"Thanks to AI, La Laitière invites us to dive into its calmed universe and discover this crowd of spectators absorbed in its task," said La Laitière's Brand Manager Julie Lerebours in a statement. "The brand's imagination and its new communication territory thus become a reality and are revealed to consumers, reminding them of the importance of taking the time to savor the true taste of good things,"

The scene was made by giving AI software directions as to what the ad should contain, in a depiction that is in line with Vermeer’s style. The team at Ogilvy utilized the new "Outpainting" feature of AI platform Dall-E2, which allows its users to  extend an exisiting image "beyond its original borders." (Coincidentally, Dall-E's announcement of the new capability included an example of an expanded version of Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring.") 

“With this 'extended' Laitière, we are at the very beginning of a revolution for our creative industry," added David Raichman, executive creative director of social and digital at Ogilvy Paris. "AIs represent an incredible potential that impacts the way we conceive, design, produce and do justice to realize the idea’s fullest potential,"