Ep.2 To Deepfake or Not Deepfake ... That is the Question
Is your "digital twin" PII? Effective adtech asks for permission. And Google v TikTok spotted on Reddit.
Effective adtech spotted in the wild …
Adtech often gets a bad rap for devaluing brand(s), delivering a subpar user experience, and generally mucking things up when it comes to data and privacy.
But I recently had a not-so-bad adtech-driven experience — one that ultimately added a new brand to my consideration set — while delivering a privacy and consent management flow that didn’t suck.
“See the solar eclipse at sea … ”
If that’s not a perfectly crafted email subject line, I don’t know what is.
Besides the alliteration and see/sea play on words, it is also well-targeted to me both demographically and behaviorally. (I travel frequently. I live for yachts, and I am all about Astrology. ‘Nuff said).
So me clicking through for more info was a win-win for both brand and consumer: It’s relevant (and interesting) to me as the user, but also delivering a (somewhat) qualified lead for the advertiser.
When I got to the Ponant / Smithsonian Cruises website, I hit the cookie wall and couldn’t continue without adjusting my preferences.
Upon first glance, that looks like far too many choices. (Also looks like a bounce rate nightmare, because this could be an immediate deterrent for an uninterested consumer).
But I’m interested. They’ve got me on the hook to learn more about this solar eclipse cruise situation — so I’m willing to forge ahead.
I’m also curious as an advertising nerd. Most cookie consent forms give me either vague options or some sort of yes or no ultimatum — and I’m inclined to just say no to everything.
But Ponant uses plain English to explain what they want to do with my info. They give me the choice and in some cases, I’m OK with it. Wanna serve me personalized content? Sure. Want to use my info to build better products? Why not. Want to store info on my device? Um, I think I’ll pass.
This is an example of how you can talk to consumers about adtech, data and privacy in a way that they’ll understand — and maybe even get some quality data to use in the process.
Consideration, but not conversion
Once I got past the consent management form, I dove into the details.
And here is where I must report that sadly, I will not be viewing the majesty of a solar eclipse from the turquoise waters off the coast of Indonesia. The cruise is two weeks long, costs $20,000 and I don’t have the time (or disposable income) for that right now.
Which is why I described myself as a somewhat qualified lead. This trip isn’t a fit for me, and thus this email/display ad combo didn’t lead to a conversion.
It was, however, a good introduction to the brand itself, and when I am ready to take longer, more luxurious trips, Ponant and Smithsonian Cruises will definitely be part of the consideration set.
So two questions for you, dear reader:
What would your data and privacy choices have been?
And what’s the last effective adtech experience you encountered?
Google’s shift to visual search
You may have heard about TikTok evolving into one of GenZ’s core search tools — but if not, the gist is that younger people are increasingly using TikTok (and Instagram) to get info about things like new restaurants before they search for the same things on Google.
In the words of Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s SVP of search:
“These users don’t tend to type in keywords but rather look to discover content in new, more immersive ways …”
This made headlines because keyword-driven search advertising is still what drives the majority of revenue for Google’s parent company, Alphabet. (Which reported over $257 billion in revenue last year).
So while TikTok previously might’ve only been viewed as a credible threat to the YouTube ad business — this shift in user behavior signals that the ridiculously popular app could be a threat to Google’s search business in the long run.
But while cruising on Reddit, I caught a sign that Big G isn’t taking this threat lying down:
In fact, Google isn’t even just taking a copycat approach to compete with TikTok — the marketing team is going on the offense.
Lead the horse to water
Given that Reddit’s user base is still young (but not quite as young as TikTok’s) it is an attempt at actively messaging and creating new habits in older users like Millennials, Gen X and maybe even Boomers.
This ad shows that they’re playing the long game, encouraging people to think of searching with Google using their phone’s camera — not just keywords.
Of course, making the act of holding up a camera as synonymous with “searching” as opening an app and typing in text is a massive behavior shift.
But tech behemoths like Google (and Apple and Amazon and Meta) can drive those kinds of shifts. (Just think how many of us have gotten comfortable with voice search — from Siri and Alexa, to the Google Assistant that’s embedded in Android phones, cars, and smart TVs).
Two more Qs for you:
When’s the last time you used voice search vs. text?
When is the last time you actually thought about it?
Bruce Willis, Deepfakes & an ad profile that lives forever
By now you’ve heard (or read) that Bruce Willis had reportedly signed the rights to his identity away to a special effects company called Deepcake.
It started with a Telegraph article, then got picked up by Ars Technica, and dozens of other pubs ran with the story.
I don’t think anyone batted an eyelash because we know Hollywood, actors, vanity and the desire to “live forever” all sort of go hand-in-hand.
It also seemed particularly poignant (and believable) because Willis recently had to bow out of the spotlight due to a degenerative brain illness. (And I don’t know about you, but he will forever live on in my head as Die Hard’s John McClane) … Yippee Ki Yay, MF.
Then, of course, came the official statement from Willis’ people to outlets like BBC & Variety:
“there is no partnership or agreement that exists between Bruce and Deepcake.”
Got it.
Deepcake’s main response was that it did have Willis’ consent to create a Digital Twin — which is essentially a virtual representation of a physical thing (or person) in the real world — for one specific commercial. (And the company processed over 34,000 images of the actor to create it).
And then the company elaborated further to Ars Technica:
“Currently no regulatory framework exists that allows people to sell rights for their identity”
This statement is particularly interesting from the advertising perspective — as it raises many questions as our industry shifts from the Web 2.0 world of ad tags, metadata and cookies, to the realm of avatars, Web3 and the metaverse. For example:
Who owns a user’s avatar and digital rights?
As it stands now, when you create an avatar in Roblox, Fortnite or any of the other “metaverse-lite” games or platforms, they do. It’s just like using Twitter, or IG or any other social platform — the info you create on the platform ultimately (legally) belongs to the platform itself.
So what happens if you make an avatar in a branded metaverse that uses your face (or your digital twin)?
What about the remnants of all the data that we’ll create in so-called enterprise metaverse spaces (like the ones Meta and Microsoft are partnering on)?
Can an ad platform scrape publicly available pictures of someone (like those on IG) and create a Digital Twin without their consent?
What if I want to monetize my own Digital Twin?
I don’t think anyone has the answers to these yet — I certainly don’t.
But it’s worth noting that while there are millions of dollars (and thousands of smart people) working to figure out how to make it less creepy to buy and sell display ads in a “privacy-compliant” way, adding Digital Twins of celebrities (and individual users) in the mix is creating a very new, very gray area.
It will be up to brands, especially, to tread carefully.
Sundries:
New tracks & artists from The STORM Warning by MEMBRAIN
About that “work” metaverse being explored by Microsoft & Meta: https://www.oculus.com/blog/future-of-work-meta-connect-2022-quest-pro-microsoft-accenture/
Brands like Gerber are eating up TalkShopLive’s shoppable video and “deep partnership” with WalMart: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hirukawa_thrilled-to-share-our-continually-expanded-activity-6978837122094874624-dK5q/