Flemish DAB+ campaign brings dead artists “back to life”

A recent media campaign for Flemish DAB+ promotion body Digitale Radio Vlaanderen breathed life into dead music stars. Brussels-based media agency Lucy designed the campaign — named “Artificial Icons.” It used voice AI to get Prince, Kurt Cobain, and Biggie to “tell” audiences about their passion for music and why everybody should choose digital radio.

“AI is omnipresent — from ChatGPT writing press releases to Midjourney illustrating comic strips,” explains Sofie Hoorens, account manager with Lucy. “But AI can also be used to produce ‘synthetic voices.’ We used voice technology developed by research company ElevenLabs to imitate the voices of these musical icons.”

Lucy analyzed several artist interview snippets and introduced them into a voice generator, imitating both timbre and tempo. The fragments also helped the creative team analyze how the artists talked, allowing them to insert specific words and natural pauses. 

“The result: Kurt, Prince and The Notorious B.I.G. entering the listener’s living room reminding them about the advantages of DAB+,” says Hoorens. “This campaign honors the artists’ hard work by encouraging people to listen to their music under the best possible conditions.”

The campaign aired between mid-March and April 3 on the public broadcaster VRT’s radio channels and commercial stations of DPG Media (Qmusic, Joe, Willy) and Nostalgie (Nostalgie, NRJ). 

Brussels-based Raygun Studio produced the spots. You can hear Prince’s “endorsement” of DAB+ here.