SKF Released AI-Generated Greta Garbo Advertisement
The estate of the actress has permitted the use of an AI-synthesized likeness for a 99-second commercial.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Industrial company SKF has debuted a 99-second advertisement featuring an AI-generated likeness of Greta Garbo. The production utilized an actor overlay and text-to-image models to recreate her appearance and voice, marking a new step in estate-authorized digital reanimation.
Why it matters
This release reflects a shifting legal and cultural landscape regarding the commercial use of AI-synthesized personas after death. It signals that estates are increasingly willing to license digital likenesses for brand campaigns and potentially future film roles.
The likeness was generated using text prompts in AI models Seedream and Google Nano Banana Pro, while her voice was synthesized from an early film recording. An actor performed the physical movements, with the AI appearance layered onto the footage.
The players
Greta Garbo
An iconic film actress known for her Hollywood career who has become a focal point for AI-based estate licensing.
SKF
An industrial company specializing in bearings and seal systems that maintains a history of utilizing the actress's image for brand marketing.
The details
Creators produced the likeness by inputting descriptive text prompts into the Seedream and Google Nano Banana Pro AI models, eschewing traditional training on static source image datasets. A human actor performed the movements on set, which were then modified with the AI-generated visage. The voice was constructed through speech synthesis modeled on historical film archives, ensuring the auditory profile matched her specific vocal characteristics.
Timeline
1921: Greta Garbo appeared in an original promotional film for SKF.
2025: Actor Val Kilmer died and was subsequently reanimated using AI technology.
September 30, 2026: The article reporting on the AI-generated advertisement was published.
The Tech Race
This production follows the precedent set by the 2025 AI-assisted reanimation of Val Kilmer. It marks an extension of commercial digital reanimation as estate managers evaluate the boundary between legacy preservation and active roles for synthetic actors.
Consumers should expect to see increasingly lifelike synthetic versions of historical figures in long-form advertising and potential feature-length films. While this specific campaign is currently public, widespread availability of these AI-based likenesses depends on individual estate permissions.
The takeaway
The use of AI to synthesize historical celebrities creates a new standard for how estates manage the commercial afterlife of icons. Watch for future announcements from the estate regarding casting, which would represent a significant shift from promotional advertising into narrative film.
Further reading
For more on the implications of machine learning for modern production, visit Artificial Intelligence.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Guardian.
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