Berlin – She lolls lasciviously by the pool, wears extravagant clothes and poses with her friends – at first glance, Miquela Sousa looks like a completely normal influencer. But the young woman with the pony haircut and cheeky freckles is not a real person, but a computer model. Designed in an American software company. Age: 19 years. Origin: Brazilian-Spanish. Lives in: Los Angeles.
Lil Miquela, as she is known on Instagram, is a true digital native. She saw the light of day on Instagram, where she is now followed by 2.9 million users. The artificial it girl has long since become an advertising icon: She adorns the cover of fashion magazines, is a star guest at Netflix premieres and runs on the major fashion shows. Sometimes she stays in a luxury hotel, sometimes she shows herself privately on the beach. And it is political: She has written the motto “Black Lives Matter” on the flags and posted a poster for the right to abortion on her Instagram account. Millions of people feast on the jet set life of a computer-generated starlet – even though this is not real.
Women wanted to look like models. Today avatars are the role models
The Robogirl not only cuts a fine figure, but also makes music. Her debut single “Not Mine” made it to number 8 on the Spotify charts. Corporations are scrambling for the avatar. Prada, Gucci, Calvin Klein – the big fashion houses all have advertising contracts with Lil Miquela. Samsung promoted its new Galaxy phone on the computer lady’s Instagram account. Like a real advertising professional, Lil Miquela holds the foldable smartphone in the picture. The message was received: over 40,000 users clicked the Like button. Young women used to dream of looking like Claudia Schiffer or Naomi Campbell. Today the role models are avatars. And the developers get paid for that.
According to estimates by the British marketing company OnBuy, a sponsored post with the advertising character costs more than $ 8,000. In social networks, what matters is not authenticity, but the number of followers. They are the currency in digital capitalism. Last year alone, Lil Miquela (or more precisely: the developer company) is said to have collected $ 11.7 million in advertising revenue. The avatar is one of the best-paid models in the world.
Virtual influencers are considered the latest craze in digital marketing: They have millions of fans, do not age and can be perfectly staged. A robo-model doesn’t come to the set hungover and with deep circles under the eyes, it doesn’t get fat and isn’t bitchy. It works. You can push an avatar like a mannequin in front of an artificial backdrop: facial expression, clothing, location, weather – all of this can be modeled on the computer. This is an advantage, especially in pandemic times. Where product presentations and sponsor trips are postponed or even canceled in the digital space, the virtual influencers step into the breach. The business with the fake celebrities continues to grow.
The prominent fictional characters are called Zhi, Margot and Shudu
There are numerous prominent fictional characters: Shudu, for example, a beautiful black woman who is hailed as the first “digital supermodel”. Its creator, photographer Cameron James Wilson, was inspired by the African supermodel Iman. The digital supermodel has been the face of various advertising campaigns. Wilson created two more avatars for the French fashion house Balmain: the Caucasian Margot and the Asian Zhi. Together with Shudu they posed for the “Virtual Army” campaign. Balmain wanted to set an example for more diversity in the fashion world.
The advantage of this computer-aided PR is that brands can put together an influencer according to the modular principle. Skin color, facial expression, hairstyle – the appearance can be designed according to the target group. Models are no longer cast, but scripted. For example, the Brazilian retail chain Magazine Luiza, all of which just call Magalu, developed the virtual influencer Lu a few years ago. The model presents mobs, cosmetics and laptops on social media channels.
PR strategists in Europe and the USA have also recognized the potential of virtual influencers. For example, the sporting goods manufacturer Puma developed its own avatar for the launch of its Puma Rider in Southeast Asia in order to market the shoe. The fast food chain KFC gave its founder Colonel Sanders, who adorns the company logo, a fresh cell treatment with the help of a computer program: The digitally rejuvenated avatar with the distinctive white beard posed on advertising photos. Sometimes casual with a soft drink in the private jet, sometimes grabbing in front of the vegetable board. The advertising strategists have succeeded in continuing the company’s history with a semi-fictional character and transferring it into the digital age.
Review: Digital models take away the humanity of business
But as diverse as the possibilities for the advertising industry are – the technology is controversial. When the fashion label Calvin Klein had the model Bella Hadid exchanged kisses with Lil Miquela for a commercial clip, a storm of indignation broke out on the Internet. The accusation: The group is staging same-sex romance to address the queer community. Shudu is also criticized: she is the projection of white men, how black femininity should look in real life.
The model Louise Stone criticized in the BBC that the use of digital models robs business of humanity: having to compete with unreal girls is “just scary”. Are artificial creatures now taking the job away from the models?
The concern may be justified, but the fashion industry has always been artificial: mannequins are as old as department stores, and digital image processing is not new either. Photoshop can be used to smooth hair, iron out wrinkles and retouch blemishes. In France, edited model photos have to be marked since 2017 so that young people do not emulate a false ideal of beauty. This does not apply in the shop windows of Instagram and Co. The virtual influencers have made the fake socially acceptable – otherwise the postings would not be liked as often. The next time Lil Miquela advertises a product, the brand can be assured of a large audience.
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