How Generative AI is Unlocking New Creative Possibilities for Brands
It’s been almost impossible to escape the success of the Barbie movie this summer, along with its $150 million marketing machine. One of the most impactful aspects of the movie’s campaign was the Barbie Selfie Generator (barbieselfie.ai). The Selfie Generator lets anyone turn themselves into a Barbie or Ken, and turned out to be a viral hit: 14 million people participated, including a raft of celebrities, from Kim Kardashian to Pedro Pascal.
The secret behind the Barbie Selfie Generator’s success was the combination of a genius marketing idea with artificial intelligence. In the past, user-generated marketing campaigns have posed the double challenge of maintaining the quality and consistency of content, whilst protecting the brand from inappropriate usage.
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In Barbie’s case, both of these problems were solved by AI. Warner Brothers worked with our AI photo-editor, using their API to automatically remove the background from each user’s image, and apply a branded Barbie template, along with a pithy campaign slogan.
With AI, complex processes that used to take hours – like cutting out hair from a busy background – can now be completed in seconds. This means that brands can personalize and scale user-generated content whilst maintaining quality and creative control. Any fan can now create an image that looks as good as a brand billboard.
Warner Bros. is just one of many brands exploring the new frontiers of visual AI. Netflix recently partnered with my company to create a selfie generator for their Black Mirror episode, Joan is Awful. Heinz used generative AI in an ad campaign that allowed fans to create and share their own ketchup-based AI prompts, which Heinz then used in billboard ads. And Coca-cola made the news as the first brand to partner with OpenAI, commissioning artists to “create real magic” with AI in a digital gallery.
But the true magic of visual AI is that the technology is breaking down the barriers to creativity, and not just for big businesses. With AI, anyone can create professional-looking content almost instantly. Teams with a marketing budget on a shoestring can already use generative AI to transport their customers – and their products – anywhere, without the prohibitive cost of studios and professional design programs.
As marketers explore the possibilities of AI, we can expect to see a stream of new opportunities emerge for innovative brands: from putting fans into movie posters, to proprietary AI algorithms that are personalized to a brand’s look and feel. By the time a Barbie sequel hits theaters, we’ll not only be able to create our own Barbie selfie, but also turn our homes into Barbie dream-houses, and even generate our own personalized Barbie dolls. With generative AI, the possibilities are endless.
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