Virtual Influencers are brands’ lastest social tool.
Shudu Gram, a South African Instagram model with flawless dark skin and a perfectly symmetrical face, has garnered 130,000 followers since appearing on the platform a little over a year ago. She’s modeled Fenty Beauty lipstick, and she’s currently penning an editorial for a major online publication.
She also happens to be completely fake. Shudu is the computer-graphic creation of a British artist named Cameron-James Wilson, who intended her as a modest art project before social media fame took hold.
Her artificiality hasn’t stopped “countless” fashion and beauty brands from trying to contract her for product plugs, according to Wilson, who claims he’s yet to take money for a sponsorship but remains open to the idea.
“I consider all of them, but I have to think about what direction I want to go in, what direction I want Shudu to go in,” Wilson said. “It has to be fitting—I don’t want to just use it as a gimmick.”
Shudu is not alone. She’s one of a crop of virtual influencers who are challenging the notions and significance of reality on the internet. And marketers are starting to take notice.
Denne historien er fra August 20, 2018-utgaven av ADWEEK.
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Denne historien er fra August 20, 2018-utgaven av ADWEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly
From Trump to ailes, the fox news personality fearlessly faces off with the powers that be—and ends up crushing the cable ratings race.
The Big Bang
Global consultancies are rocking the agency world, creating a new universe of offerings that meld marketing and technology.
DROGA5
Using the fingers on just one hand, David Droga argues, you can count the number of agencies that possess a “strong soul.”
Ogily
When it comes to leadership changes, 2016 will be remembered as a time of disruption.
The Myth of White Space
'Brands have to stand out in an obvious crowd—not stand alone in an unusual spot that no one cares about.'
Brand Phelps
Can the greatest olympian in history be as dominant out of the pool as he was in it?
Masters Of Their Domain
WHY DIGITAL BRANDS ARE KILLING IT IN ECOMMERCE. BY LAUREN JOHNSON
Winners' Playbook
BRANDS OFTEN FIND THAT WHEN THEY AIM TO DO GOOD, THEY ALSO END UP DOING WELL. HERE ARE FOUR RULES TO KEEP IN MIND. BY DAN TYNAN
Flipping The Disruption Script
THE FORTUNE 500 SHOULDN’T REST ON THEIR LAURELS OF HAVING A FIRST-TO- MARKET ADVANTAGE.
MCCann
All things old were new again in 2017 as McCann dominated the U.S. agency landscape with a string of wins and created the most-discussed campaign of the year in Fearless Girl.
