Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Unveils a World First Hybrid AI Campaign

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has unveiled an industry-first, multi-platform digital advertising campaign created using Hybrid AI.

The fusion of human-led creative disciplines, including live action, CGI, and photography, with cutting-edge generative AI, and featuring the world’s largest AI digital twin for a single object.

Production partner nmatic.ai, one of the world’s first Hybrid AI creative production studios, opened up new possibilities for Fred. Olsen in the delivery of the campaign, which included everything from an industry-first TV commercial to hybrid AI print photography. The Hybrid AI technology fuses film, photography, CGI, art direction, and storytelling with the speed, scale, and iterative power of Generative AI. nmatic.ai’s hybrid AI approach enhances human craft rather than replacing it, and all humans who feature in the latest film are real.

Commenting on the unveiling of the campaign, Holly Goddard, Head of Brand at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said, “Our aim with this campaign was simple: to bring to life the distinctive feeling our guests associate with sailing with Fred. Olsen. By combining thoughtful storytelling with new creative technologies, we’ve been able to explore fresh ways of bringing that feeling to life while staying true to who we are as a brand. It reflects the many elements that come together to create a Fred. Olsen cruise and celebrates the feeling that keeps our guests coming back.”

The commercial, directed by five-time Emmy Award-winning director Jonathan Jones, follows Fred. Olsen’s ‘Chief Alchemist,’ who infuses the ingredients that create ‘The Fred. Olsen fell into a miniature ship in a bottle. The story transitions to the real world, showing guests enjoying the feeling of sailing with Fred. Olsen.

Hybrid AI has the potential to produce content both significantly faster and significantly more cost-effectively than traditional methods, where AI is used to complement creative processes rather than replace them. Dependent on the use case and the blend of traditional and AI methodologies, this can deliver work up to five times faster while also driving savings of up to 70%

The Fred. The Olsen campaign concept was created by Blunt House, a collaboration of senior strategists, creatives and partners with years of experience shaping leading UK and global brands.

Nick Price, Founder and CEO of nmatic.ai, added, “It was a real pleasure to produce this work with Hybrid AI workflows. Our aim was to use the right tool for the right part of the shoot, and our approach sees live action, CGI and AI interwoven subtly throughout the films and the stills. For us, this demonstrates that GenAI has a powerful role to play in larger productions, where it complements and facilitates but doesn’t seek to replace. This is the future of production.”