Beautiful New Face Shakes Up Japanese Advertising Industry... "Turns Out It's AI"

Japanese Beverage Company Hires Virtual Human as Advertising Model
Netizens' Reactions to the Ad Are Mixed

A Japanese beverage company’s AI model used in its product advertisement is gaining attention for its 'sync rate' that closely resembles a real person.

According to a report by Japan Today on the 21st, Japanese beverage company Itoen released an advertising video last month to promote its expanded green tea beverage line.

The advertisement features a middle-aged woman drinking green tea from a PET bottle and then transforming into a much younger version of herself. The main model, a woman wearing a white sleeveless top, is a virtual human created by AI. She looks at the camera and smiles faintly, without any awkwardness, just like a real person.

The label on the new green tea product held by the virtual human model was also designed by AI. The company created 12 label designs using an image-generating AI, then human designers shortlisted the candidates, and finally, the AI evaluated them again to select the final label design.

This is an advertisement showing a middle-aged woman drinking green tea from a PET bottle and then transforming into a much younger appearance. The main model is a woman wearing a white sleeveless top, and she is a virtual human created by AI. She looks at the camera and smiles faintly, with no awkwardness, just like a real person.
[Photo by Ito En YouTube Channel]

Japanese netizens who saw this advertisement expressed amazement at the realistic depiction of the AI human. On social media, comments included "I thought I couldn’t recognize who it was, but it was AI, amazing," "Completely natural," and "Unbelievable quality."

On the other hand, there were also negative opinions. Some netizens responded cynically, saying, "It feels empty once you realize the person doesn’t actually exist," "Using AI models to promote food and beverages is not a good idea," and "It seems like the future is heading toward a dystopia where everyone on TV is AI."