SKF Group uses AI to recreate Greta Garbo for advertisement

The Swedish bearing manufacturer SKF Group has used artificial intelligence to recreate Hollywood icon Greta Garbo for a new advertising campaign. The move revives a connection from the early 1920s when the Swedish-American actress appeared in a promotional film for the company.

To avoid copyright issues regarding existing photographs or footage, the digital likeness was created using text prompts. The production utilized various AI tools, including ByteDance’s Seedream 5 Pro and Nano Banana Pro, Google’s Gemini, and Kuaishou’s Kling AI. While the visual likeness and movement were generated via prompts, the voice was trained using a single authorized archival recording from one of Garbo’s early films, with a human actor assisting in refining the cadence.

The campaign, which has received mixed reactions ranging from praise for its realism to criticism of its tone, promotes SKF’s friction-reducing technologies. The advertisement also highlights a historical payment model from 1919, where companies pay based on energy savings achieved through the technology. The project was approved by Garbo’s estate and licensing representatives.