Companies

Japan Beverage Company Uses AI-Generated ‘Actor’ in TV Ad

Courtesy of Ito En, Ltd.
An AI-generated “actor” in an Ito En, Ltd. TV commercial

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:52 JST, October 21, 2023

Beverage company Ito En, Ltd. has put a character generated by artificial intelligence in a TV commercial for its Oi Ocha Katekin Ryokucha green tea drink.

According to the company that produced the commercial AI model Inc., it is the first TV ad in Japan to use an AI-generated “actor.”

The ad, which has been airing since early September, shows an older woman holding the product saying, “I’ll start now for my future self,” and then changes into a young woman.

After generative AI created a human figure, designers went in and made adjustments to the “actor.”

Copyright violations and other issues have been linked to generative AI, but Ito En said it had confirmed that the ad is free of such problems.

“We decided to use the AI-generated character after thinking about how we could show someone’s appearance in the present and 30 years later,” said an Ito En public relations official, adding that the company is surprised with the large amount of feedback it has received for the ad.