Artificial intelligence is changing the way brands create advertisements, and its latest use has brought one of Hollywood’s most famous stars back into the spotlight. Swedish ball-bearings manufacturer SKF has used AI technology to recreate the appearance and movements of legendary actress Greta Garbo for a new advertising campaign.
Garbo, who became one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s golden era, died in 1990. Known for her memorable performances and distinctive screen presence, she has remained an influential figure in cinema decades after her death. Now, through modern AI technology, her likeness has been recreated for a completely new commercial.
The project has also raised important questions about how artificial intelligence should be used to recreate people who are no longer alive.
According to SKF, the digital version of Garbo was created without using her original photographs or film footage. The company said this approach was taken because of copyright concerns. Instead, developers used a combination of modern AI technologies to create the actress's digital appearance and movements.
The campaign reportedly used AI tools developed by ByteDance, Google and Chinese technology company Kuaishou. These systems helped generate the visual character and bring it to life through movement. The technology demonstrates how quickly AI-generated characters are becoming more realistic and capable of appearing naturally in professional advertising.
Garbo’s voice was handled differently. Rather than generating an entirely new voice from scratch, the creators used audio from one of her early films. The team was authorized to use the original audio, giving the advertisement a voice that is directly linked to Garbo’s early film career.
The project was developed in cooperation with the Greta Garbo estate and her family. Their involvement makes the campaign particularly notable because the use of a deceased celebrity’s identity can involve complicated questions surrounding rights, ownership and consent.
The SKF campaign has been described by AI researcher Henry Ajder as a form of “synthetic resurrection.” The phrase reflects the growing ability of artificial intelligence to recreate aspects of people who have died, including their appearance, voice and mannerisms.
However, not everyone is comfortable with this development. Critics have questioned whether deceased actors should be digitally recreated for commercial purposes, even when their estates or families are involved. Film critic Peter Bradshaw has raised concerns about the broader implications of using AI to reproduce performers who can no longer give their own consent.
The issue extends beyond Greta Garbo. The entertainment industry is already debating how performers’ faces, voices and identities should be protected as AI becomes more advanced. Actor George Clooney, among others, has also expressed concerns about what could happen to actors’ likenesses after their deaths.
For SKF, the campaign represents an unusual combination of classic Hollywood history and modern technology. For the wider entertainment and advertising industries, however, it highlights a much bigger conversation.
AI can preserve memories, recreate historical figures and produce highly realistic digital characters. At the same time, it raises questions about copyright, personal identity, consent and the limits of digital recreation.
Greta Garbo’s return in an SKF advertisement may therefore be more than a creative marketing experiment. It offers a glimpse into a future where the line between historical footage and newly generated performances could become increasingly difficult to distinguish.
