CAA Partners with Ogilby to Launch AI-Generated Celebrity Ad Tool

Ad agency Ogilvy announced on Monday that it is partnering with talent agency CAA to launch ECHO, an AI platform that lets marketers produce AI-generated ads featuring celebrities. The companies say a short shoot can yield a portfolio of media-ready assets, potentially cutting costs by as much as 75 percent.

The platform draws on the CAA Vault, a database that stores and licenses the digital likeness, voice and intellectual property of clients who opt in. Talent must approve every ad, and automated compliance engines check AI-generated material against contracts and brand safety guidelines.

The launch reflects a push to monetize celebrities' digital likenesses as brands, long wary of deepfake backlash, appear more accepting of AI. The cost and speed figures are the companies' own claims, and CAA did not say which stars have opted in.

The CAA Vault captures, stores and licenses the likeness, voice and intellectual property of clients who opt in. CAA's Alex Shannon said it is meant to ensure talent owns and controls its digital likeness and can monetize it only with consent.

ECHO's workflow can plug into standard post-production tools. The companies say one traditional asset shoot can be stretched into 30 to 50 assets, and every consumer-facing product carries a visible watermark that names the approving talent and says it was recreated with AI.

The article places the launch within a shift in attitudes: brands have been hesitant because of pushback against deepfakes and unauthorized AI use, but acceptance appears to be growing. Last month the likeness of 1930s film star Greta Garbo was revived in an ad from Swedish ball-bearings firm SKF. Ogilvy's Carol Reed said the agency's global research found consumers want explicit proof that talent is in control.