Unmasking the Truth: How Steak-umm enlightened meat enthusiasts with deepfake veganism
Unveiling the alarming power of DeepSteaks, an article explores the impact of generative AI on manipulating individuals' images, raising concerns about authenticity and the potential for misuse in ads and beyond Stay informed in 350 characters
Welcome to Campaign Trail, where we analyze the best new creative efforts from the marketing world. You can find previous columns in the archives here.
For years, deepfakes have been utilized in marketing by brands such as Michelob Ultra, Mtn Dew, Old Spice and FanDuel to generate memorable cultural moments and tap into the ongoing wave of nostalgia. While deepfakes have become a familiar topic in the industry, they have also raised concerns about their potential to contribute to disinformation. These concerns have grown as generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made it easier for malicious individuals to manipulate images and voices of people to create ads and unsolicited content.
With that in mind, Steak-umm has launched a campaign that utilizes deepfakes to demonstrate the threat the technology poses, not just to celebrities and politicians, but also to everyday consumers. "DeepSteaks" showcases a PSA-style video helmed by Jason Woliner ("Borat Subsequent Moviefilm") featuring a fabricated focus group of genuine vegans who are served vegan cheesesteaks. The reactions of the group are then manipulated using AI technology to make them appear as meat-eaters, presenting a form of "fake news" that elicits disbelief and outrage.
Staying authentic
The push, developed in collaboration with the ad agency Tombras, features a call to action centered on the Deep Fakes Accountability Act, furthering the brand’s continuous initiatives to counter misinformation.
In recent years, Steak-umm has distinguished itself with sincere social media messages that defy traditional marketing norms, a surprising move for a thinly-sliced frozen steak product. A 2020 Steak-umm thread on X (formerly known as Twitter) drew attention to the dangers of “misinformation, media saturation, partisanship, and cultural division” during the height of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. The company revisited this theme last year by embracing the metaverse trend with its “Meataversity” program.
"The brand stands for 100% real beef, and they have consistently spoken out against anything that is fake," explained Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer at Tombras. "Often, we have great ideas that we present to a client, and they question whether we have the right to do it. But for years, the brand has been advocating for '100% Real,' and this was the next chapter."
The chapter opened with a play on words in the title relating to deepfakes, showcasing a rare instance where the catchy name preceded the campaign brief. Tombras set their teams the task of brainstorming, and the concept of transforming vegans into carnivores emerged as the winning idea. The subsequent challenge was to determine the appropriate tone and tactics.
“As a brand, they don’t irritate people. There has to be intention and purpose, and as we continued to work on it, we [realized] there’s a really powerful [statement] we can put out there into the world,” Benjamin said. “More than your face is at stake here with some of these technologies that are out there.”
Deepfakes delivered in 10 minutes or less
The growing number of instances where public figures were deepfaked highlighted the alarming potential of this technology to shatter the credibility of ordinary individuals. This compelled the Steak-umm campaign to transition from being simply a brand strategy to becoming a necessary course of action, as per Benjamin's observations. The challenge of actually producing the deepfakes posed another layer of complexity.
Benjamin chuckled as he remarked, "I never knew there were multiple ways to do this."
Tombras soon discovered that the quality of deepfake results depended on the investment of time and money in the technology. For DeepSteaks, the team aimed for authenticity and opted for off-the-shelf software. They also set time limits to showcase their capabilities, giving themselves just 10 minutes to create deepfakes, including voice clones and AI-assisted lip sync, while interviewees waited in a separate room between filming sessions.
Benjamin described the results as good, though not perfect. He noted that the discrepancies were enough to make people question themselves when they saw a deepfake video of themselves claiming to love meat as a vegan. The campaign's message was further emphasized by the time and cost constraints, and the fact that the final product made people stop and think: if deepfakes can be created in just 10 minutes using accessible software, what will happen as the technology continues to advance and become more widespread?
DeepSteaks has generated 4.5 million views on TikTok and 1 million views on Instagram, along with thousands of comments, showcasing Steak-umm's unexpected role as a source of information about misinformation. Benjamin referred to a quote that presents brands as a tool to "help humanity scale," capturing the company's purposeful ethos.
"I firmly believe that every brand has the opportunity to make a meaningful impact and still achieve high sales," Benjamin stated. "We are fortunate to have a fan base that seeks more than just entertainment. They find fulfillment in something purposeful."
