Artificial Intelligence and New Approaches in Communication: The Levi's Case Study

AI has gradually expanded its presence across various sectors, from medicine to finance to communication, often making human life easier and safer. Known also as General AI, it refers to all cognitive functions performed by a machine that are hardly distinguishable from those of a human. This entails the ability to learn, reason, and make decisions autonomously. These abilities open up new frontiers in practical applications but also spark an ongoing ethical debate as technology advances.

There are high expectations for the future advancements of these increasingly present technologies. This growth will necessitate regulation, particularly to ensure AI's capacity for objectivity and lack of bias.

A coalition of scientists, entrepreneurs, and mathematicians has highlighted the potential risks of indiscriminate AI use. A significant first step was taken in 2023 by the European Parliament with the AI Act, a document aimed at regulating AI usage to ensure safety, privacy, and prevent discriminatory applications. The Act thus governs the use of AI, which, if misused, can be detrimental to social and political balance.

The application of AI in communication has been revolutionary, with tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E 3 making it possible to generate text, poetry, drawings, and images. Recently, AI integration with CGI has created a new communication paradigm, producing surreal yet familiar visual content. This PAV (Paradox – Action – Vivid) approach captivates viewers, creating a unique brand image in their minds. CGI campaigns, unlike traditional productions, offer a cost-effective and sustainable solution by minimizing logistical and environmental costs, allowing brands to focus on advanced creative strategies.

Developer and technical writer Aaron Brancotti, co-author of Metaverse Architect, emphasizes the role of humanity as the Metaverse's primary resource. According to Brancotti, integrating sociological and anthropological dynamics within the Metaverse’s technological realm is essential. Building a Metaverse is not like making a film but is more akin to creating an event schedule. The Metaverse represents a fusion of technology and humanity, embodying a paradigm of human-technology interaction known as interaction design.

The iconic brand Levi's has developed a project that connects Artificial Intelligence with fashion. Levi's choice to use AI reflects its innovative approach, as in the past year, it created virtual models of jeans using this technology.

To enhance their customers' shopping experience, Levi's introduced virtual models to simplify the search for the perfect jeans. Collaborating with Lalaland, a Dutch AI-driven communication company founded in 2019, Levi's has made online shopping more distinctive and realistic. Each garment can now be viewed on a virtual model, tailored to account for differences in body shape, size, and age among potential customers. These virtual models are designed to complement, not replace, human models.

Given Levi's inclination toward Artificial Intelligence, why not develop an entire communication campaign generated with AI?

We envisioned additional communication ideas to further explore Generative AI applications for the brand. In Levi’s initial brand analysis and communication strategy development phases, ChatGPT was used. The chatbot provided a solid foundation for the creative phase, where images were generated using Dall-E 3 and Microsoft Bing.

We envision the communication campaign launching in autumn for about a month. It would be spread across various channels, from traditional billboards to interactive formats, embracing guerrilla marketing in select locations in Milan through Pop-up stores and Levi's brand shops. During the campaign, stores and Pop-ups would distribute themed items, like jeans-shaped keychains, pins, and magnets. Additionally, CGI images would showcase iconic city locations, such as Piazza Duomo, to enhance brand presence throughout the campaign.

The campaign would conclude with a brand fashion show, for which an invitation would be sent to influencers, generating user-generated content through unboxing. The fashion show would be live-streamed on social media to engage a wider audience. The location, an abandoned factory, would highlight the original use of the 501 jeans, which were initially worn by workers.

During the visual development of the project, efforts were made to engage readers by generating explanatory images. To achieve this, detailed prompts were provided to Dall-E 2, followed by successive corrections through additional prompts. Initially, there were difficulties in generating images with this tool, with unsatisfactory results and outdated representations, sometimes with text errors. In creating images for billboards, it was necessary to guide the AI step by step through its process. It was essential to suggest a more human approach in the models. Initial attempts raised doubts about the accuracy and articulation of the prompts, leading to further generation requests through ChatGPT, though results remained imperfect and unconvincing. Exploring various image generation tools, a solution was found through image generation via Microsoft Bing, which produced acceptable results right from the start, thanks to technology that integrates Dall-E 3 with ChatGPT 4. The surprise was in the quality of the images and the variety of artistic styles offered. Additionally, the generated images immediately aligned with the inserted prompt without the need for excessive detail. This emphasized the necessity of guiding artificial intelligence, highlighting that, despite advances over time, humans will always set the pace of work.

To mark the launch of the new Heineken Silver beer, the brand created the first virtual brewery in the Metaverse on Decentraland. In this space, designed in collaboration with Spanish street artist J. Demsky, visitors can learn about the beer’s qualities, speak with experts, and explore pairings.