Adland is only just beginning to grapple with the world of AI and an ad that appeared over the weekend is a possible harbinger to the dangers of the new technology.
The actor Ryan Reynolds is being urged to sue after his likeness was used in an AI-generated commercial for electric car firm Tesla.
The spot, made with deepfake artificial intelligence technology, was apparently made by a Tesla fan and posted to Twitter by a YouTuber Kevin Paffrath who goes by the name of ‘Meet Kevin’.
Admittedly, the video does come with a disclaimer that reads: “This video has been created with the help of AI and does not feature the actor Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds).”
Check the offending spot out below that has so far had over six million views.
Introducing, @Tesla‘s first ad, featuring @VancityReynolds
(and thanks to @elonmusk $TSLA). pic.twitter.com/GVI708Enaf
— Meet Kevin (@realMeetKevin) May 17, 2023
The ad follows a recent declaration to shareholders by Tesla boss Elon Musk that the brand would start to use traditional advertising channels. It had previously had a history of never paying for endorsements.
Musk even gave the fake commercial his seal of approval when he replied to Paffrath’s video: “Nice.”
However, not everyone was impressed and urged Reynolds to sue for misusing his image.
“Sue him, Ryan,” tweeted one person.
“I hope Ryan Reynolds sues,” another said.
Another added: “I’m not even a lawyer, and I could win the case against this for Ryan Reynolds.”
While a fourth said: “Really hoping this becomes illegal super quick.”
However, Reynolds responded to the kerfuffle in a truly Reynolds way.
His digital marketing agency Maximum Effort cobbled together an AI version of Musk spruiking Reynolds’ gin brand Aviation Gin.
The video was released on Twitter under the headline ‘Two can court disaster with this game!’ Reynolds returning serve with a “nice” in the comments section.
Two can court disaster with this game! pic.twitter.com/0Hp43XU1wR
— Maximum Effort (@MaximumEffort) May 18, 2023
