French Ad Agency Appoints Virtual Lion as Chief Metaverse Officer
French advertising and public relations giant Publicis Groupe France has appointed a virtual being named Leon as its chief metaverse officer. Leon is a humanoid lion who only exists in digital space, including an official LinkedIn profile, but Publicis Groupe decided he would be the best guide to the virtual worlds of the metaverse and Web3.
Metaverse Leon
Leon’s role as chief metaverse officer is both guide and example of the metaverse for Publicis Groupe’s clients. The AI-powered creature uses a synthetically generated voice to interact with both clients and employees to demonstrate how best to utilize the metaverse as a literal Web3 native. The ad group worked with Publicis Conseil to produce Leon as both a marketing stunt to showcase what Publicis Groupe can offer and a genuine aid toward developing services within the digital universe, including NFTs, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence. Leon’s personality even includes enough of a sense of humor for his creators to post a video of him reading mean tweets about himself.
“I am an avatar with an obsession: the metaverse,” Leon’s LinkedIn bio explains. “After a brilliant career in the Publicis Groupe, I have been appointed Chief Metaverse Officer in 2022. Along with my team, I am ready to guide clients in the metaverse jungle.”
Real Virtual Beings
Virtual beings representing real brands are starting to appear with some regularity. Korean video game developer Krafton just introduced Ana, a virtual human designed to interact with people in the metaverse. And companies capable of providing platforms to build metaverse characters like Inworld and Bud are rapidly attracting clients and investors. As people flock to the metaverse for everything from award shows, to basketball games, and full music festivals, every variety of business will be looking for an edge or other way to best leverage the new venue for marketing and advertising. A lion could be the ideal guide for that journey.
“The metaverse isn’t a destination, it’s a real-time learning moment for all. It requires interrogation, education and experimentation,” Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun said. “We are committed to being on that journey with our clients, to help them understand what it means for their business and to bring them the existing Web3 capabilities in the Groupe across data, media and technology. Leon embodies that as an avatar and will help our clients navigate this new channel and progress every step of the way.”
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