The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2023
VW Brazil's AI duet reunites Elis Regina and Maria Rita — El Ojo 2024 Grand Prix
For VW's 70 years in Brazil, AlmapBBDO trained AI on Elis Regina's face so the late singer duets 'Como Nossos Pais' with her daughter — 50M+ views.
Volkswagen do Brasil
What it had to solve
Volkswagen do Brasil turned 70 in 2023 and needed an institutional campaign that honoured its past while announcing its electric future — the Kombi was returning as the ID.Buzz, and the brand wanted a generational story.
How it works
In July 2023, to celebrate 70 years of Volkswagen in Brazil, AlmapBBDO released 'Gerações', a two-minute film in which Elis Regina — Brazil's iconic singer, who died in 1982 — duets 'Como Nossos Pais' with her daughter Maria Rita. Elis drives a classic Kombi while Maria Rita drives the electric ID.Buzz, a generational handover the brand used to announce the Kombi's return as an electric car.
The Elis Regina in the film was built with AI: autoencoders combined with StyleGAN 3 were trained on photos and footage of the singer, mapped onto a body double, and refined frame by frame by Flow Effects. Her voice is her original recording; Maria Rita sang her part around it. Elis's three children approved the project before it was presented to the client.
The campaign opened at a VW event for 5,000 partners and was posted by Maria Rita. It was a Twitter trending topic for over 24 hours, racked up more than 50 million organic views, topped YouTube's trending list and Google Trends, and drew 99% positive comments. It later won El Ojo de Iberoamérica 2024's Digital & Social Grand Prix.
Why it lands
- The idea trades a brand anniversary for a human reunion Brazilians had always imagined — mother and daughter never got to sing together.
- Using the real person's original voice and getting the family's approval made the AI a tribute rather than a gimmick.
- Pairing the classic Kombi with the electric ID.Buzz made the campaign sell the future through nostalgia.
- Training the AI on Elis specifically, not on generic models, is why the result felt like her and not like an uncanny replica.
- Launching at a live event for 5,000 partners created the first wave of tears that spread on WhatsApp and Twitter.
What it did
The film was a Twitter trending topic for over 24 hours, reached 50M+ organic views across platforms, topped YouTube's trending list and Google Trends, drew 99% positive comments, and won the El Ojo 2024 Digital & Social Grand Prix.
What you can take
AI resurrection works as advertising when the technology is trained on the real person, the family approves it, and the film's emotional weight — not the novelty — carries the message.
Since then
The film became a watershed for AI in Brazilian advertising and turned the 'impossible reunion' into a repeatable format. It won El Ojo 2024's Digital & Social Grand Prix and was discussed globally as a landmark of deepfake-era brand creativity; the question of image rights for deceased celebrities became part of the public conversation in Brazil.
Sources
- Ao som de 'Como nossos pais', 41 anos após a partida de Elis Regina, Maria Rita reencontra a mãe em dueto musical inédito
- Elis Regina canta com a filha, Maria Rita, em dueto criado com IA para campanha da Volkswagen
- Behind Volkswagen's Deepfake Daughter Duet
- Volkswagen: Generations
- Todos los Ganadores de El Ojo 2024
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