Deepfakes in Marketing: Balancing Hyper-Realism with Ethical Responsibility

Deepfakes are transforming marketing, forcing brands to balance innovation and responsible use.

My apologies for this week’s late issue. Earlier in the week, I attended and spoke at a tech conference on AI marketing and am just now getting back to the office.

At the conference, Andrea Hickerson, Ph.D., dean and professor at the University of Mississippi journalism school, talked about deepfakes, which inspired me to look further into the subject. (Originally, we published “Taking a Deep Dive Into the Deepfake Dilemma” in February 2024.)

Image generated by ChatGPT-4o DALL-E

The deepfake AI market is expected to experience substantial growth. Predictions suggest it will reach $1.4 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 37.6% from 2024 to 2033. Another report forecasts the market to reach $5.1 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 44.5%.

In this issue, we examine deepfake’s transformative marketing potential and ethical challenges.

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NotebookLM-generated podcast of the issue:

PRO
“Deepfakes create hyper-realistic content for better storytelling and brand engagement, while AI-driven tools offer precise targeting and personalized marketing strategies through deeper customer insights.” ~ Synapse India

Deepfake Technology in Marketing

Brands are using deepfakes in marketing campaigns to create hyper-realistic content, such as personalized video ads featuring celebrities or influencers.

Here are a few examples: