Australia (Commonwealth Union) – Advertising maybe set for a new technology with deepfake advertising, which may fool consumers into believing a brand is endorsed by a celebrity, but is simply a deepfake. Manipulated advertising is becoming more common in marketing. Methods like deep fakes leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning forming passable, true-to-life, synthetic copies almost impossible for consumers to identify.
A new study conducted by the Swinburne University of Technology reveals how deepfakes may possibly be used by companies and marketers by initiating an Era of Deepfakes and AI-Generated Ads: A structure for learning Responses in Manipulated Advertising.
Deepfake advertising is likely to become more common in the years ahead. Researcher and co-writer of the paper, Professor Sean Sands, stated that deepfake use will likely be widespread in mainstream media within the next 10 years.
Currently, content formed by synthetic methods is mainly user-generated, which technologists regularly apply to showcase their AI expertise by training AI to change faces or voices of unique actors or politicians, where most user generated content is clearly fake.
Advertisers will have a chance to create deepfakes identical to the real thing, such as deepfakes representing ourselves in advertising. Experts point out however that there will be benefits to move away from being excessively identical. Researcher in digital innovations in marketing and advertising, Associate Professor Colin Campbell says brands could personalize ads to every single consumer, at a scale never seen before, also stating that the idea may become too frightening for many.
“There is an abundance of research that shows greater positive effects when consumers see people like them in ads. Brands could tailor ads by serving up a deepfake model matching your exact ethnicity, height, wearing clothes similar to what you’ve purchased previously or liked online, standing on a street near your home or workplace using data extracted from social media, retail sensors or loyalty programs,” he said.
