Can Deepfake be used in marketing?

Since the topic of artificial intelligence has been trending, many people have begun to have mixed feelings on the subject.

There is a group of people who sees artificial intelligence programs as a tool to streamline their jobs, and there are those who refuse to use it and who are undoubtedly against technology advancing by such leaps and bounds....

The point is that no matter which side you're on, technology is already at that level and it's only going to keep advancing. So, are you going to stand idly by and do nothing about it?

We don't plan to tell you what's right or wrong, but before you judge, you need to be aware of the possibilities that this new technology offers you.

Among the programs that are being used the most at the moment is Deepfake, and those who work with marketing have wondered if it will be useful for them.

The truth is that we are also intrigued by it, so let's review together the possibilities offered by Deepfake:

What is Deepfake?

We assume that, if you are researching the application of this technology in digital marketing, it’s because you already know what it is, but if the topic takes you by surprise and you’ve never heard of it, it’s necessary to review its definition a little.

The first thing to understand to get a clear idea of what it is, is its translation because in a simple way, this term can be understood as "really fake".

However, there’s one more meaning to take into consideration; the term comes from the union of deep learning and fake.

That is, the deep learning of artificial intelligence and, of course, the word fake.

So, in general, it’s a type of tool that aims to create realistic fake content by means of artificial intelligence.

Currently, it’s used specifically in the falsification of audiovisual content (especially in videos), to replace the face of the person who appears there, for that of another. All this is in a surrealistic way, making it difficult to differentiate between them.  

Since when has Deepfake been used?

Although the term may seem recent to many people, the truth is that this is a technique that has been used for quite some time.

For several years, Deepfake has been used in film and television to create compelling content.

One of the most frequent uses is bringing back to life actors who have passed away and have not been able to complete a movie.

For example, this is what happened with Brian's character in Fast and Furious 7, and with Leia in Rogue One.

Of course, this is something that is also used when the person needed cannot arrive on time to the filming or cannot participate in it.

It should be noted, however, that the use of Deepfake has increased since technologies have become more advanced.

That’s why today there are digital tools that have even been responsible for creating from scratch the face of people who don’t really exist, and it’s quite convincing.

This is possible because an AI, working with deep learning, is able to study human features in-depth to recreate them from scratch, which is certainly interesting, but also a bit creepy...

Are there different types of Deepfake?

Now, we have previously explained that Deepfake is used, above all, with audiovisual content.

However, it should be noted that there are two types of Deepfake that you should learn to differentiate.

On the one hand, there is Deepfaces, which is the one we’ve been explaining, which is responsible for replacing faces or creating them virtually from scratch.

Now, there is also Deepvoices, an artificial intelligence tool that allows changing the voice of the person appearing in a video or transmission.

By making use of this type of tool, it’s possible to change what a person is saying to a totally different message and make it seem 100% real.

Moreover, it’s not a matter of just changing what they are saying. It’s about imitating the person's voice in such a real way that, when you watch videos edited with this, it’s impossible to tell whether it’s real or not.

Undoubtedly, this is another tool widely used by various media and people, although it should be noted that it has also been used for the creation of false content and scams, which is quite unfortunate.

The million-dollar question: Is it possible to use Deepfake in marketing?

Without a doubt, the idea of creating fake content at first glance is not that appealing.

But the question with this type of tool is always going to depend on what you’re going to use it for.

As long as you use it in a good way and for noble reasons, you can get a lot out of them and it can be very useful.

That’s why the answer to this question is a clear yes, you can indeed make use of Deepfake technology to create content for digital marketing.

In fact, it’s something that has already started to be used and the truth is that it has generated very impressive results.

Among some of the types of advertising campaigns in which Deepfake has been used recently are the following:

1. Campaigns with influencers.

Undoubtedly, one of the marketing strategies that has been widely applied with Deepfake is the creation of campaigns with important people in history.

Through this type of campaign, it’s possible to bring back to life characters from past times to send messages to today's youth.

Of course, depending on your niche, you can use specific personalities as references.

Let's say you work with fashion, then it can be helpful to use Deepfake to create campaigns with the face of Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe, for example.

Just as in the case of music, you could use stars such as Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson.

The possibilities in this area are truly endless and it’s all a matter of adapting it to the advertising needs of the niche you are working with.

That's why campaigns like the Queen Sofia Foundation's "Natural Intelligence" campaign attracted so much attention. Since they brought Salvador Dalí to life digitally to raise awareness about the study of neurodegenerative diseases with a very metafictional message.  

2. Advertising campaigns with a nostalgic touch.

Resorting to sentimentality is something that also tends to give good results within digital marketing.

To do so, the idea is to bring historical people back to life, but to promote specific events or recall important moments.

A clear example of this is the commercial for "The Last Dance" in which they make you believe that Kenny Maine had made a prediction about the documentary in question.

Resorting to the nostalgic aspect is something that really touches people's heartstrings and through that you can lead them to do something specific or to watch a piece of content.

3. Campaigns with preview or experimentation

Now, going to the most recent and technological possibilities that Deepfake offers you to improve your sales, there are the campaigns that play with experimentation on the part of the customers.

This has been used quite a lot by stores that sell clothing. In this case, the idea is that, through the stores' website, customers can try on garments virtually to get an idea of how they would look.

Of course, you work with a base model and the aspect that changes the most is the customer's face, but it’s still useful for the customer to have a good preview of the use of the garments or accessories sold in your store.

In this way, you create a much more personal interaction with the customer

Since the objective of this type of tool is that the person in question feels taken into account and can have a better approach to all your products.

Positives and negatives aspects of using Deepfake in digital marketing

Now, as with everything in this life, especially in the virtual environment, the use of Deepfake is something that has both positive and negative points.

Being aware of them will allow you to better analyze whether it’s really a tool that can help you in your work or not.

That’s why, before you make this decision, you should read about its pros and cons:

Benefits of using Deepfake in marketing.

To start off well, we are going to highlight the positive points first, so that you can become aware of all the things you can do with it and without any problems.

So let's go through the list of advantages:

• You can offer a hyper-personalized experience to all your customers.

• It’s an option that will allow you to get great results, with little investment of money.

• The campaigns are done in less time because you don't have to wait for any person.

Disadvantages of using Deepfake in Marketing

However, the negative points of using Deepfake must be recognized in order to understand that it’s a tool that may entail a series of risks.

It’s because of these negative aspects that many people are wary of using Deepfake for their marketing campaigns and it’s understandable that they are wary of it.

For this reason, before you start working with this tool, you should be aware of its disadvantages:

• If you don't ask permission from the person whose face you're going to use (whether they're a living celebrity or a client), you're likely to face legal trouble.

• Many clients are still wary of those who use Deepfake in their campaigns and advertisements.

• Deepfake has been used to create fake news and this has been causing furor on the networks.

Are there risks in the use of Deepfake in marketing?

Undoubtedly, the risks are more than present and latent regarding the use of Deepfake, especially for the large number of scams and fake news that have been created with this tool.

While it’s true that your intention when using it may be good, you must understand that there are many other people who have done negative things with this technology and it’s something that has set a precedent, there are even stores that seek to defraud their customers.

So, yes, of course, it’s something that poses risks, especially with respect to the permissions needed to use other people's faces or voices.

In addition, it’s expected that security measures will soon be created to detect which videos on social networks are made with Deepfake.

At the moment, there’s no problem with its use, but it’s likely that in the near future it will be something that will not be supported on digital platforms.

Now that you know more about this tool and are aware of the positive and negative points of its use, you can create your own judgment regarding its use.

It should be clear that technology will not stop advancing and it is likely that Deepfake will continue to improve in terms of realism over the years, which can be understood as more opportunities or more risks of scams.

So, what do you think, is it something that can be useful in marketing or do you feel that you would have problems using it?