AI fever has swept the world over the past year, and businesses are scrambling to figure out how best they can take advantage of it to improve efficiency and profits, so it’s interesting to see how artificial intelligence interprets some of the biggest businesses in the world.
New research has revealed how the world’s biggest brands are seen by artificial intelligence. The study by online shopping site Ubuy South Africa, a cross-border shopping platform, used AI image generator MidJourney to create images which used the world’s most famous brands as a prompt, with the model creating a selection of four pictures for each.
The results reveal how the image generation system creates images which often closely align with the brand’s style and product, based on just a single word prompt. They also show that these brands have very strong identities, and the people in charge of the companies will likely be pleased that the image generator produces results which, in the majority of cases, show the brand in a flattering light.
Coca Cola, Pepsi
Two of the world’s biggest drinks brands get similar treatment from the AI. Each of the eight images is a portrait of a woman, with the brands’ iconic colours well represented. In three of the Coca Cola images the woman is holding a drink, although the colours of the liquid are redder and more orangey than Coke usually looks, whereas none of the Pepsi images features an obvious drink. The women in the Coke images call to mind film stars from previous decades, while the Pepsi images seem to be more superhero-inspired.
Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft
Using “Facebook” as a prompt produces some slightly darker results than other brands (see the header image), including a large skull surrounded by smaller bones, a woman being haunted by gruesome floating heads, and a person sat in an apparent wasteland strewn with computers. The AI’s interpretation of Amazon blends the river and rainforest with the tech giant, with the images featuring stacks of books and packages in the middle of trees and vines.
The results for Google are the most colourful of the tech companies, depicting castles in the sky surrounded by floating balloons, with hints of Google’s multi-colour logo. Microsoft gets the most varied set of images, ranging from greenery and water to a woman holding a tablet and a futuristic cylindrical cityscape.
Nike, Adidas
Both Nike and Adidas results in colourful product shots of the companies’ shoes, splashed in multiple paint colours. The brands’ logos are accurately reproduced for the most part, except for one Adidas shoe which features four stripes rather than the brand’s signature three.
Honda, BMW, Tesla, Toyota
The results for some of the world’s biggest car manufacturer vary considerably. Honda as a prompt produces motorcycle-focused imagery – two featuring a female rider, and two vehicles by themselves. BMW gets a more historical treatment, with retro-looking vehicles against mountain backdrops.
The Tesla images all feature a man who could be interpreted as an amalgamation of Nikola Tesla and Elon Musk, alongside a car, and always in front of a fiery and stormy background. The car is the star in the Toyota images, although it appears in some weird and wonderful places, with strange creatures being a consistent theme.
Gucci, Louis Vuitton
The results for Gucci are all portraits of women in flowery outfits and surrounded by flowers as well as other animals – immaculately groomed dogs appear in two of the pictures, while exotic birds perch on a model’s shoulders in one. Louis Vuitton’s handbags take centre stage in three of the four images, while the fourth, like Gucci’s, features a female model in an outfit that is adorned with flowers.
Gary Meredith July 22nd, 2023, at noon
Great article but there’s references here to images that are not shown which is a little annoying, where’s the Pepsi images? ????