Was that spinning head a mistake—or the entire level?
When McAfee dropped a brand new digital advert exhibiting a lady lounging on a seashore, solely to have her head rotate a full 360 levels, the web lit up. Some viewers thought it was a post-production error. Others assumed it was a bizarre deepfake gone flawed. And whereas a number of sharp-eyed commentators caught the joke straight away, most have been left questioning: was this good advertising or an entire fail?
Spoiler: it was on goal.
AI on Purpose
You could have seen the advert—the calm seashore scene, the informal vibe, after which, the absolutely rotating head. Reactions ranged from confused to amused, with a handful of eager observers nodding in understanding.
We didn’t mess up.
With the assistance of our artistic company VSA, we developed a sequence of digital adverts utilizing generative AI to blur the road between actual and surreal. The purpose? To make a much bigger level: AI is now able to mimicking actuality in refined, intelligent methods which might be more and more onerous to detect. That’s precisely why instruments like McAfee’s Scam Detector matter greater than ever.
“While the ads are clearly AI, the implication is that AI isn’t always so easy to spot,” stated Anne-Marie Rosser, CEO of VSA. “It’s funny, and it creates empathy for the user since we’re all susceptible.”
And don’t fear—we didn’t hand every little thing over to the machines. McAfee and VSA’s full artistic and design groups have been instrumental in shaping each element, from idea to execution. The AI was a software. The imaginative and prescient got here from actual folks.
These artistic decisions replicate our philosophy at McAfee: take cybersecurity severely, however don’t all the time take your self too severely. Humor has the facility to interrupt via worry and disgrace—and in the end, assist folks defend themselves higher.
Scam Stories, Real People
Alongside these eye-catching adverts, we’re launching Scam Stories, a social marketing campaign constructed round actual voices. From live performance ticket scams to spoofed customer support texts, folks throughout the nation are sharing their experiences utilizing #KeepItReal and #MyScamStory—and we’re listening.
Some of these people, like actor Chris Carmack (of Grey’s Anatomy and The O.C.), have joined our marketing campaign to share their very own moments of being duped. Others, like cyber scholar Henry or life coach Cory, are serving to us educate others by turning private ache into public empowerment.
Partnering for Impact
This marketing campaign isn’t nearly consciousness—it’s about motion. That’s why we’ve partnered with FightCybercrime.org, a nonprofit that helps folks acknowledge, report, and recuperate from scams. We’re donating $50,000 value of McAfee safety to folks in FightCybercrime applications and to the volunteers who help them.
We’re additionally teaming as much as broaden schooling efforts via our Online Safety for Kids initiative—as a result of constructing a safer web begins early.
What’s Next
Scammers depend on silence, disgrace, and pace. But once we decelerate, converse up, and share our tales, we take away their energy.
The Keep It Real marketing campaign is greater than only a product launch. It’s a motion to cease the stigma round scams, assist folks defend their peace of thoughts, and remind you: if it could occur to Chris Carmack, it could occur to anybody.
