Celebrity digital doubles in ads, with sign-off on every version

A single shoot is the starting point for multiple versions of a campaign in ECHO. Each AI-generated ad requires approval from the person depicted.

Agreeing to have your face scanned and approving an ad that features it are two separate decisions. ECHO, a platform from Ogilvy and Creative Artists Agency, places them at different stages of production. The scan can be used to create a digital replica that’s licensed under terms negotiated with the performer. Each ad then goes back to the performer for approval before it runs.

Terry Crews, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor and former NFL player, is among those who have opted in. He told The New York Times that AI-generated videos featuring his likeness were already circulating. By taking part in the project, he wants to show audiences which versions he has approved. From scanning the performer to approving the ad

The data used to create the replicas comes from the CAA Vault, a capture, storage, and licensing service launched with Veritone in 2024. During a visit to the studio, Vanity Fair described a 204-camera rig that scans the entire body. Other equipment captures facial expressions and voice. Ogilvy says it trains its replica models on the capture data stored in the vault.

Built into WPP Open, ECHO is designed to produce variations from a single main shoot. A team can prepare a version for another market or adapt an ad for social media without scheduling another session with the performer. The platform checks the generated material against the contract’s usage terms, then sends it to the person depicted for final approval. The published ad carries a visible label identifying who approved it and disclosing that the performance was recreated with AI. What Ogilvy’s 76% figure measures

In an internal study of more than 1,200 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, Ogilvy found that more than 76% of respondents found the ad more appealing when the celebrity’s approval was made explicit. The figure represents the share of respondents who reacted that way. The study combined questionnaires with tests of spontaneous associations and compared different ways of disclosing AI use.

A separate YouGov survey, conducted in the United Kingdom in July, looked more broadly at AI-generated performers. Among British respondents, 94% said companies should disclose their use in ads. YouGov asked about disclosure. Ogilvy also tested what happens when the disclosure says the person depicted approved the ad. From custom campaigns to the first pilots

Digital replicas had already been used to personalize advertising. In 2021, a Cadbury campaign developed by Ogilvy and Wavemaker let shop owners in India generate an ad in which Shah Rukh Khan said the name of their store. In the United States, SAG-AFTRA’s 2025 Commercials Contracts already provide for informed consent and compensation when a digital replica is used in a covered production.

Through ECHO, Ogilvy is offering advertisers across the WPP network a production and approval process they can use across campaigns. Carol Reed, Ogilvy’s global chief innovation officer, told Digiday that several pilots were under negotiation and could begin running by the end of 2026. The brands involved have yet to be named.