Lay’s sends personalized messages from Messi

Per details shared with Marketing Dive People can visit a Messi Messages website to generate a custom video, following a series of text prompts to guide what Messi says.

He speaks as if he could see and hear

The Messi Messages site’s technology manipulates the movements of the star athlete’s lips and then syncs the movements with voiceover audio in real time to make it appear as though Messi is actually speaking.

The synthetic videos from Messi are informed by a series of text prompts that ask the user to share their name, a friend’s name, an activity they want to do with their friend — such as watching a match — and when they should do that activity (i.e. “tonight” or “tomorrow”). After the site generates the video in seconds, users have the option to download the message and share it with others. An infomercial-like spot explains how the technology works and shows Messi saying “It’s incredible” in several languages.

First time used for consumer activation

Lay’s partnered with AI and facial-mapping specialists Synthesia to develop the feature, which can process thousands of names and is available in up to 10 languages. The effort is another sign that brands are dipping their toes further into deepfakes and adjacent technology to automate more of their marketing. The announcement claims this is the first time such technology has been accessible to consumers through a brand activation.

The service summons comparisons to deepfakes, an application of AI that manipulates existing footage or images of people’s faces to make it appear as though they’re saying things. Deepfakes have raised serious ethical concerns, but also steadily leaked into advertising as brands experiment with new production methods during the pandemic.