Snickers uses José Mourinho AI clone for major brand campaign

As interest in the UEFA European football championships continues to peak, Snickers has turned to an innovative AI-enhanced campaign with “The Special One” José Mourinho for its latest engagement with consumers, writes Neill Barston.

The former Roma and Manchester United coach, who has now taken the reins at Fenerbache in Turkey, has teamed up with Mars Wrigley to authorise a digital clone for a unique initiative known as Own Goals, with his virtual self offering fans brand-related tips on how to improve their game.

As the confectionery giant explained, the personalised video venture using the WhatsApp social media platform is considered a first of its kind, working with T&Pm and Helo, powered by ElevenLabs, Synclabs and Open AI GPT 4.0, sees eight separate stages in the AI pipeline create a unique ‘chain of thought’ architecture. Including safeguarding, to ensure consistently entertaining and brand-safe original content, helping each output to feel unique without relying on templated content.

According to Mars, the virtual “Special One” Portuguese manager dispenses bespoke on-brand advice in his distinctive no-nonsense style on avoiding personal own goals such as buying the wrong German flights to Dortmund instead of Düsseldorf, or fashion faux pas at the Euros that could potentially cause a stir as the major tournament springs into life at the last 16 stage.

Notably, the confectionery business has partnered with Meta to integrate this bespoke AI-powered Jose, which hopes to make a social media splash and promote some unique conversations with footballing communities across the continent.

Gülen Bengi, Chief Growth Officer Mars Snacking & Lead CMO Mars Inc., anticipated a strong reaction to the venutre: “At Mars, we believe in building Brand Worlds where iconic brands create remarkable experiences for their fans and communities inviting them to engage and co-create together. Always at the centre of culture, always moving at the speed of technology.

“Our first-of-its-kind Snickers campaign stands as a testament to this, delivering consumer co-creation and personalization at a scale that was unimaginable until very recently, before GenAI became part of our toolbox.

“I’m very proud of our brand builders embracing the possibilities, enhancing creativity and doing it responsibly. As we navigate this new frontier of AI-enhanced brand building, it’s crucial that we keep a pioneering mindset tempered by caution, always putting safety and ethics first.”

Toby Allen, Chief Creative Officer at T&Pm, also enthused that the venture (which you can sign up to here) would prove a fruitful one in making inventive use of generative AI to engage with audiences, which is an area of marketing with huge potential around the world

He said: “This campaign is indeed a special one. A great brand, an iconic coach, and innovation at its heart. – using AI to create mass personalised entertainment in a way that has never been done before and could never have been done before. All made possible with human intelligence – a team of over 70 people worked together”

The fan-centric approach has already been teased with social videos of the real José on Snickers and José’s social channels during the Champions League Final and in the build-up to the Euros, which it hopes will prove winning formula for one of Europe’s biggest events.