Snickers create AI José Mourinho clone to coach fans out of own goals

Created by T&Pm, the campaign will produce personalised videos of José for any fan submitting an 'Own Goal'

By Creative Salon

25 June 2024

Snickers has signed esteemed football manager José Mourinho in a first of its kind partnership which will see the brand team up with José to pioneer a fully authorised AI clone, ready to coach football fans out of the 'Own Goals' mistakes they score this summer.

To create personalised videos of José for any fan submitting an 'Own Goal', Snickers has made pioneering use of AI. The first of its kind, in partnership with T&Pm and Helo, powered by ElevenLabs, Synclabs and Open AI GPT 4.0, sees eight separate stages in the AI pipeline create a unique ‘chain of thought’ architecture. Including safeguarding, to ensure consistently entertaining and brand-safe original content, helping each output to feel unique without relying on templated content.

It is a busy summer of football ahead and fans are expected to make more gaffes, or 'Own Goals', than ever. Whether it is accidentally buying flights to Dortmund not Düsseldorf, getting a selfie with a much-ridiculed half- and-half scarf. We can all think of examples of how these moments can come to life.

The platform plays into a cultural truth that social media fuelled fan-banter surrounding football attracts more buzz than the actual football.

Snickers partnered with Meta to integrate this bespoke AI-powered Jose with WhatsApp, a unique integration that allows consumers to bring their personalised interactions with Jose into the communities and conversations they care about most.

No other AI-powered campaign has used the technology in this exact way before: trained to deeply mimic the personality of a major talent, to generate limitless pieces of original video content, and designed to be shared to many.

Gülen Bengi, chief growth officer Mars Snacking and lead CMO Mars Inc., said: “At Mars, we believe in building Brand Worlds where iconic brands create remarkable experiences for their fans and communities inviting them to engage and co-create together. Always at the center of culture, always moving at the speed of technology.

"Our first-of-its-kind Snickers campaign stands as a testament to this, delivering consumer co-creation and personalization at a scale that was unimaginable until very recently, before GenAI became part of our toolbox.

"I’m very proud of our brand builders embracing the possibilities, enhancing creativity and doing it responsibly. As we navigate this new frontier of AI-enhanced brand building, it's crucial that we keep a pioneering mindset tempered by caution, always putting safety and ethics first."

Toby Allen, chief creative officer at T&Pm, added: "This campaign is indeed a special one. A great brand, an iconic coach, and innovation at its heart. - using AI to create mass personalised entertainment in a way that has never been done before and could never have been done before. All made possible with human intelligence - a team of over 70 people worked together."

The campaign has already been teased with social videos of the real José on Snickers and José’s social channels during the Champions League Final and in the build-up to the Euros.

The tool goes live on 25 June, supported by posts from influencers sharing and reacting to their own José video created using the tool, plus paid and organic social, directing fans to generate their own videos. Users are encouraged to share links to their bespoke videos with friends and on group chats.

Unlike typical football tournament sponsorships, this fan-centric approach uses fans to amplify the brand’s message. The campaign is part of Mars Wrigley’s strategy of putting personalisation and fandom at the heart of its “world-building” strategy for Snickers. By involving fans in the co-creation process, the brand can develop a deeper relationship with consumers, driving exponential social sharing and conversation.

The campaign marks another significant step towards Snickers achieving its goal of becoming the number one confectionery brand for football fans by the end of 2025.