Calvin Klein Advertise with CGI Model

Virtual models and digital Instagram 'infleuncers' have officially arrived. Among them is the fictional character Miquela, whose recent Calvin Klein campaign has offended the LGBTQ+ community and has been accused of misrepresenting them to appear progressive.

Described in her Instagram as a 'robot', the computer generated character was created by Sara DeCou and Trevor McFredries of Brud. The digital simulation plays the role of a 19 year old, LA based Instagram model, who also has a Twitter account, a Facebook page, (not a profile like a person would), and a YouTube channel with songs that are 'sang' by the AI character.

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​Remember the #10YearChallenge that swept up social media at the beginning of 2019? Well check out Miquela's addition!
​(Much appreciation for this...)

Miquela, (whose Instgram promotes support for  LGBT Life Centre), has recently featured in a campaign for fashion brand Calvin Klein, that has since been criticized as harmful towards the LGBTQ+ community. The advert featured Miquela kissing the international supermodel, Bella Hadid on the mouth, prompting Calvin Klein to be accused of using the exploitive tactic of 'queerbaiting'* for their campaign.

*When companies use the suggestion of a homosexual relationship in order to attract LGBTQ+ fans, whilst trying not to alienate straight customers.
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One of the issues that have been raised from this advertising campaign, is that although the sexual orientation of Miquela's character is yet to be defined, Hadid, the model accompanying Miquela, is known to be heterosexual. Calvin Klein have since acknowledged that using a (human), model in the campaign who does not identify as LGBTQ+ could be interpreted as queerbaiting. 

Calvin Klein have responded to the criticism via Twitter with the below statement, apologizing for any offense caused.

Meaningful representation of LGBTQ+ relationships are still not the norm in advertising, and the use of a heterosexual model kissing a simulated human could be argued as undermining any possibility of genuine representation that the campaign could have produced.

 "All of these visuals are representations of lesbianism rather than images created by or featuring women-attracted-women, aimed not so much at us but at a viewer who finds the idea of what we get up to behind closed doors sexually exciting."

​In contrast with the #MYTRUTH message that the Calvin Klein campaign attempts to portray, the result is that through the models chosen, the relationship highlighted inauthentically represents the LGBTQ+ community.

​It is a lesson in advertising that can be used across industries; if you want to represent or reach out to a community, then Involve That Community.

This is not the first time that ​AI generated characters in the form of young females have been used in high profile modelling campaigns. The virtual character Shudu claims to be 'The Worlds First Digital Supermodel', having starred in online campaigns for Ellesse and not forgetting Noonoori, the more obviously CGI character who nonetheless has been featured in make-up campaigns for Dior.

​According to WillRobotsTakeMyJob.com, there is a 98% prediction that the already challenging industry of modelling will replace people with robots/AI in the next 2 decades. 

During my initial viewing of these figures, my knee-jerk reaction was to dismiss this prediction with disbelief that automated models could ever surely offer the producers of fashion and the consumers interested the same level of legitimacy and flavor that a real person can/does. And yet, although some would argue that the modelling industry is in the midst of diversifying, how 'real' - in the sense of genuine representation of different groups of human beings - are we currently able to argue that the industry really is? With the growing number of simulated characters entering into modelling and commercial campaigns, perhaps this is just the beginning ​for AI generated characters being used to entice us to buy more things.

"​She’s only the beginning in the brave, if not ethically dubious, new world of robo influencers."