CAA and Ogilvy Launch AI Platform for Celebrity Ads

Celebrity endorsements are entering new territory. Ad agency Ogilvy announced Monday it is partnering with talent agency CAA to launch ECHO, an AI platform that lets marketers produce ads featuring celebrities.

The system draws on CAA's "vault," a database that captures, stores and licenses the digital likeness, voice and intellectual property of clients who opt in. Brands can build a portfolio of media-ready assets from a short shoot, which the companies estimate could cut costs by as much as 75 percent and shorten turnaround times. Talent must approve every ad, with automated compliance checks comparing AI-generated material against contracts and brand safety guidelines. CAA did not disclose which stars have opted in.

"We built The CAA Vault to ensure that talent owns, controls, and can safely monetize their digital likeness on their own terms and only with their consent," said CAA head of strategic development Alex Shannon.

ECHO's workflow integrates with standard post-production tools. According to both companies, a traditional shoot of eight to 10 assets can be expanded into roughly 30 to 50 for ads tied to TikTok trends. Consumer-facing products will carry a visible watermark reading "[Talent Name] Approved | Recreated with AI."

Ogilvy CEO Laurent Ezekiel said in a statement that the tool addresses the "fundamental tension between speed, scale and trust" in the AI era. Ogilvy chief innovation officer Carol Reed called it "the 'NIL moment' between advertising and entertainment," adding that consumer research shows people want proof the talent is in control.

The launch reflects growing interest in monetizing celebrities' digital likenesses, though brands have been wary of backlash over deepfakes and unauthorized AI use. Last month, the likeness of 1930s movie star Greta Garbo was revived in an ad for Swedish ball-bearing maker SKF. ECHO is among the first efforts to build infrastructure around celebrities who opt into such use.