New Zealand telecommunications company Skinny has introduced a world-first initiative by selecting a customer to become the AI face of their brand.
Liz Wright, a 64-year-old resident of the Bay of Islands, has been chosen for this role. Wright is a longstanding customer of Skinny, and in exchange for her participation, she has received a lifetime supply of mobile credit from the company. Known for her satisfaction with the company's services, Wright emerged as the selected candidate following a national search which attracted numerous applications over a two-week period.
The process of creating Wright's digital clone took 11 weeks and involved collaboration with some of New Zealand's foremost creative talents. The team worked extensively to capture Wright's voice, facial expressions, and personality to ensure her digital likeness authentically represented her. Matt Bain, Skinny's Marketing and Data Director, expressed satisfaction with the initiative and its alignment with the company's ethos.
"At Skinny we're all about keeping prices low and customers happy – so creating a digital clone of one of them just made sense," Bain explained. "Yes, it's bold, but it's also smart, and allows us to keep making the playful, creative ads Skinny is known for in a more cost-effective way. Lizwas the perfect choice – she's been a loyal customer for over 12 years, and now her digital clone will carry the Skinny spirit forward in a way that's never been done before."
Wright, a former engineer at Telecom and a mother of a professional in AI, brings relevant experience and technical understanding to her new role. Her connection to the telecommunications and AI industries adds valuable insight into the project.
Wright shared her enthusiasm for the unprecedented opportunity, saying, "When they told me they wanted to clone me, I couldn't believe I was the chosen one. It's an incredible opportunity to represent a brand I love – and have been a happy customer of for over a decade now – in such a unique way. I've always wanted to be part of the Skinny team, and now I get to be – just in AI form."
The AI likeness created for Skinny is intended to deliver campaign messages efficiently, eliminating the need for traditional advertising shoots for each campaign. Bain highlighted the benefits of integrating this AI development into Skinny's operations.
"This AI twist production is proof that technology, when paired with human oversight, can create something truly exciting," Bain said. "It's a natural extension of our commitment to AI innovation, helping us create highly engaging campaigns while keeping costs low for our valued customers. It isn't about replacing real people with AI, in fact we're still very reliant on the real Liz and the awesome humans who have helped bring AI Liz to life, and we're also guided by our AI Principles," he added.
The AI version of Liz Wright will appear in Skinny advertising over the next two years, heading various campaigns as the brand's AI ambassador. Meanwhile, Wright will conduct a media tour across New Zealand to share her experience as the pioneering customer to have become an AI brand ambassador, before stepping back and allowing her AI counterpart to take on more responsibilities.
