AI in secondlife advertising - like it or not?

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

I've seen 2 ads in the Saturday sales gallery that included avis who have been enhanced by AI. I don't think the items on sale themsleves have been though. I'm a bit worried this could end up being a slippery slope where at some point they are too, which could be misleading to consumers.

Thoughts?

[Qie Niangao]

Is it really different from 'shopping the product on top of RL photos?? I personally think that's problematic too, but it's apparently common for hair creators to plop their SL rugs atop beautiful RL models' faces, and skin creators to use RL hair imagery to adorn their SL facial skins.

[steeljane42]

Morphs, faceapp, now AI generated garbage. SL ads had it all. I don't even care about them being misleading, but I can't stand those generated images in general, so there's almost no way I'll be checking an actual product with such ad.

[Tjay Wicken]

I think AI is great for many things - but this is not one of them.
Depending on what is being sold, it could definitely be misleading but even if not, it creates a terrible precedence.

If I saw an ad like that I wouldn't even click to see the product.

This is far from the only problem with ads though, maybe it's just me but half of the time I have no clue what is actually being advertised and sold - is it the hair? the glasses? the skin? a pose? Oh right, it was the ring on the left index finger barely visible in the picture.

 

Edited November 16 by Tjay Wicken

[Midnoot]

hate it because its even more of a fraud than photoshop/filtering your product listing was, but it looks good so it's going nowhere. 

[SarahThe Wanderer]

Why would anyone like a fake Ad?

I don't see any reason to like it, it's deceiving simple as that.

I'd avoid these stores; becuase they themselves have no confidence in their prudect that they needed to use the help of an Ai.

 

[Blush Bravin]

I personally think using AI, within limitations, could be quite advantageous in ads; however, and it's a HUGE however, in no circumstance, IMO, should AI be used to misrepresent the actual product. Using AI to determine the best composition or to discern if the ad's target is met by how the product is represented are good uses of the tech without actually misrepresenting the product.

Advertising/marketing has always been ripe with abuse and misrepresentation. It's been with us as long as there's been printed media. Just watch a couple episodes of Mad Men, which is really pretty accurate of how advertising agencies operated in the 50s and 60s. So, *shrugs*, nothing new under the sun really, it's the same question of ethics in advertising. I don't trust ads mostly. That's why demos are great.  

[Lyric Demina]

Personally I'd much rather see images from in-world by skilled photographers who can make the world and the product look fantastic.  Art for Art's Sake.  Purchasing because you love the human-made art that surrounds the purchase, because the creator is just that creative that the thing they made looks amazing in photos just like it will look amazing for you.  Love it.  Using AI to sell something on the other hand is just manipulating capitalist urges in my opinion.  So, not a fan of the AI artwork in sales and marketing.  Like Blush says, this is why Demos are great.

[Anastasia Loxingly]

If your product can't stand on its own merits using in viewer screenshots, it doesn't deserve to get purchases.

[Rowan Amore]

Yeah, this doesn't look creepy as hell...

[JacksonBollock]

Sorry, but most of you guys are completely delusional.

Almost every decision you make in your life, from what coffee you use to get moving in the morning, to the toilet paper you use to wipe your bum, all of them made with reference to unrealistic advertising.

No - buying a certain face cream doesn't make you look like a 30 year old again, and certainly not a 30 year old Charlize Theron - it's a lie.

No - the spanx you bought don't fool people into believing you run 6 miles every morning - it's a lie.

No - that watch that you spent $10K on doesn't make other men think you are hung like a stallion and fly spitfires in your lunch break - it's a lie.

All lies people - and sorry to say, none of you are as  discerning or as screptical as you think you are.

To be fair, usning AI like this is a gross undervaluing of the technology. A pretty transparent appeal to delusional vanity usually is all that's needed.

Edited November 16 by JacksonBollock

[Luna Bliss]

8 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

All lies people - and sorry to say, none of you are as  discerning or as screptical as you think you are.

I"m screptical!  What is that, anyway...?

[JacksonBollock]

Just now, Luna Bliss said:

I"m screptical!  What is that, anyway...?

Dammit - my full tirade undone by a typo..

Let's face it - I deserved it  

[Luna Bliss]

9 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

Sorry, but most of you guys are completely delusional.

Almost every decision you make in your life, from what coffee you use to get moving in the morning, to the toilet paper you use to wipe your bum, all of them made with reference to unrealistic advertising.

True, advertising is everywhere.

I think you're missing the main point though........it's not that people don't realize they're being manipulated all the time, it's when the manipulating is EXCESSIVE that we take issue with it.  It's a matter of degree.

[JacksonBollock]

1 minute ago, Luna Bliss said:

True, advertising is everywhere.

I think you're missing the main point though........it's not that people don't realize they're being manipulated all the time, it's when the manipulating is EXCESSIVE that we take issue with it.  It's a matter of degree.

I see the point, but maybe EXCESSIVE happened way before AI arrived on the scene.

I spend loads of money on a cologne which the advertising tells me will make me devastatingly attractive to women, and honestly so far it seems it's just mildly ok at keeping mosquitoes at bay. Damn you Brad Pitt (or your AI alter ego)!!

[Luna Bliss]

2 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

I spend loads of money on a cologne which the advertising tells me will make me devastatingly attractive to women, and honestly so far it seems it's just mildly ok at keeping mosquitoes at bay.

You've got that right. I've come to hate repair men working in my house, due to that nasty smell of weird cologne or aftershave.  Makes me gag. They really do need some nice scents for men.

[Artorius Constantine]

If I want to sell a Pinto I use a picture of the Pinto. NOT an AI generated image of a Mercedes.

[Sid Nagy]

1 minute ago, Luna Bliss said:

You've got that right. I've come to hate repair men working in my house, due to that nasty smell of weird cologne or aftershave.  Makes me gag. They really do need some nice scents for men.

My suggestion: you girls take care of your smells, scents and perfumes.
We boys decide what we go for. Mkay?
Life can be as easy as that.

[JacksonBollock]

1 minute ago, Luna Bliss said:

You've got that right. I've come to hate repair men working in my house, due to that nasty smell of weird cologne or aftershave.  Makes me gag. They really do need some nice scents for men.

You could do that thing they do in department stores, and spritz them as they come through the door with something you do like.

Not "Pitts for Men" though, Brad sold me a pup on that one...

[Ayashe Ninetails]

25 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

No - buying a certain face cream doesn't make you look like a 30 year old again, and certainly not a 30 year old Charlize Theron - it's a lie.

I've yet to meet a single woman who thinks this. I'm sure they exist out there somewhere, but we're not all that delusional. I don't even wear makeup or use anything on my face but soap and water (or maybe a baking soda mask to help exfoliate), so beauty advertising is entirely lost on me.

 

25 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

No - the spanx you bought don't fool people into believing you run 6 miles every morning - it's a lie.

People still wear Spanx? 😂 TIL.

 

25 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

No - that watch that you spent $10K on doesn't make other men think you are hung like a stallion and fly spitfires in your lunch break - it's a lie.

Who in the world outside of Wall St. execs buys a $10,000 watch? Wait don't answer that. Probably the same people who love those ugly LV bags.

 

25 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

Almost every decision you make in your life, from what coffee you use to get moving in the morning, to the toilet paper you use to wipe your bum, all of them made with reference to unrealistic advertising.

I've never seen ads for my favorite coffees, but they aren't major brands or anything. "Blueberry flavor" and "chocolate notes" is all I needed to see in their Amazon descriptions. They weren't lying. They're gooooood.

 

That said, though, I don't consider any of that advertising to be that unrealistic. There are certain known ingredients that have useful properties for skin, hair, nails, etc. Coffee ads don't seem over the top to me. Who cares that much about toilet paper? People buy jewelry they like the look of and if they can afford it, go for it. LV bags are ugly as hell, but as long as I don't have to carry one, go on with your bad selves. And of course vanity exists. That's nothing new.

What DOES get on my nerves is food advertising, because THAT's ridiculously over-the-top and misleading (especially when you order what you see and get something entirely different). I've seen how those ads are made. It's entirely gross.

As for AI advertising in Second Life, I barely pay that much attention to it. I used to work in print graphic design. Creating ads in Photoshop ain't much different. It's probably most misleading for skin ads, but I demo everything like that extensively anyway. As long as the product itself isn't falsely represented (which I've not personally encountered myself), no biggie IMO.

Edited November 16 by Ayashe Ninetails
Fixing stuffs

[Luna Bliss]

12 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

15 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

You've got that right. I've come to hate repair men working in my house, due to that nasty smell of weird cologne or aftershave.  Makes me gag. They really do need some nice scents for men.

My suggestion: you girls take care of your smells, scents and perfumes.
We boys decide what we go for. Mkay?
Life can be as easy as that.

These repair guys are often instructed, when they work for a company (so this one guy in construction told me) to arrive at the customer's home not stinking like sweat and reveal they haven't taken a shower in 5 days.  So they actually do it for their customer, and apparently aren't aware that using half a bottle of cologne with a scent not everyone even likes, might be too much.

Not a male-female war you're trying to paint it as.

Edited November 16 by Luna Bliss

[JacksonBollock]

12 minutes ago, Artorius Constantine said:

If I want to sell a Pinto I use a picture of the Pinto. NOT an AI generated image of a Mercedes.

Pfft, doesn't sound like you've spent much time in sales.

Get them in the door with the Merc - use psychology to make them feel small and not worthy of the Merc ("this is too much car for you mate") - then make them feel like they're punching above their weight with the pinto - you're doing them a favour by even letting them take the test drive - and Bob's your uncle.

Anything to get them through the door my friend, after that it's just a battle of wits  

Edited November 16 by JacksonBollock

[Lyric Demina]

28 minutes ago, JacksonBollock said:

all of them made with reference to unrealistic advertising.

No.  Generalizations like that are ignorant.

We can buy things and not like how they are advertised.  That's the question here.  How do you feel about the AI in the ads, not whether or not you'll keep buying the stuff.

 

[JacksonBollock]

1 minute ago, Lyric Demina said:

No.  Generalizations like that are ignorant.

We can buy things and not like how they are advertised.  That's the question here.  How do you feel about the AI in the ads, not whether or not you'll keep buying the stuff.

 

You're probably right 🤷‍♂️

[Bree Giffen]

I am disturbed by it but it won't turn me off from considering a product. There's always a lot of fakery in advertising images and nearly every image we see in SL stores and at events are essentially ads. We have demos however and demos don't lie. 

There have been times when an ad makes the product look good and sometimes they unintentionally look bad. I've had enough experiences to know that I should pull all demos and not just the ones that look good because sometimes you get a product which may not look good in the vendor image but looks great on you as a demo.