Ogilvy and CAA launch Echo to make AI ads from star scans

The scans come from The CAA Vault, a studio where 204 cameras capture a star’s walk, facial expressions, body language and voice, Digiday says. Ogilvy feeds it into WPP Open, the group’s AI production system. Ogilvy estimates the average cost of each asset falls by 65% to 75%, because one shoot yields 30 to 50 usable assets where a traditional production gave eight to ten. Actor Terry Crews has opted in; Ogilvy names no client yet and says pilots should go live towards the end of the year.

No asset can be released before final sign-off, which follows an automatic check against the star’s usage terms, Marketing Dive says, and every public asset carries a visible watermark reading “[Talent Name] Approved | Recreated with AI”. Under the framework, the likeness belongs to the star, who decides which markets and which companies can use it.

On our rights table, checked on 24 October, HeyGen requires, on its Free to Business plans, the explicit consent of the person shown, who can ask for removal at any time. Synthesia requires that person’s consent for a custom avatar in paid social ads, and Arcads asks for proof of rights for any celebrity voice.

On those tools, the advertiser must secure the consent itself, and on HeyGen must also act on a removal request. Echo builds that step into the agency’s workflow: no asset ships without final sign-off through an approval portal, and the star approves everything.