Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / Why Brands Are Using Celebrity Voice Cloning on Social Media
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this brand on TikTok right now — I won't name them because it's still rolling out — but they've been running ads using a voice that sounds exactly like a very famous actor. And the actor did not record those lines. Luna: Wait — are we talking about AI voice cloning? Because I've seen this pop up more and more in my feed. Brands using synthetic celebrity voices without the celebrity actually saying anything. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just shady startups. Legitimate companies are experimenting with licensed voice clones or training models on publicly available audio. The whole thing sits in this weird space between permission and exploitation. Luna: Quick honest thing — we do this show without ads, and a small group of listeners keeps it going through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's what makes episodes like this possible. So genuinely, thank you. Lucas: Yeah, it's a tiny thing that adds up. Anyway — back to the voices. Let's start with a concrete example everyone's seen: that TikTok filter from last year that let you speak in Drake's voice. Luna: Oh, the 'Drake Voice Filter' — it went viral. People were lip-syncing to 'Hotline Bling' and the AI would transpose their voice to sound like Drake. It was hilarious but also… legally dubious. Lucas: Right. And that was just a user-facing filter. Brands saw the engagement numbers and thought, 'What if we do this for our ads?' So we're now seeing companies like McDonald's in some markets testing voice-cloned celebrity endorsements for limited-time offers. Luna: Is McDonald's actually doing that? I thought they had a real celebrity partnership with someone else. Lucas: They do — but in a few test regions, they've used a synthetic voice that mimics a certain rapper's cadence for their drive-thru menu audio. It's not the rapper's real voice, but it's close enough that customers did double takes. The legal team signed off on it because the voice model was trained on royalty-free audio samples, not the rapper's actual recordings. Luna: That's a gray area. Because if the public perceives it as that celebrity, even if technically it's not, you're trading on their likeness without consent. There's a term for that — 'right of publicity' — and it varies by state. Lucas: Exactly. California and New York have strong protections. But other states are looser. And when you're running a national campaign, you have to navigate that patchwork. That's why some brands are going the other direction — they're paying celebrities upfront for the right to clone their voice. Luna: Who's actually doing that? I know DraftKings has been doing something with ai generated sports commentator voices. Lucas: DraftKings is a great example. They partnered with a startup called Respeecher — they're based in Ukraine, actually — to create AI voice models of retired athletes. The athletes sign a contract, get paid a flat fee plus royalties, and then DraftKings can generate new commentary for daily fantasy promos without booking studio time. Luna: So that's licensed. That seems cleaner. But the interesting thing is — does the audience care? If they know it's AI, does it hurt engagement? Lucas: Initial data suggests no. In fact, some campaigns see higher click-through rates because the voice feels novel. But there's a catch: once listeners realize it's synthetic, they often feel deceived if the disclosure isn't clear. A study from earlier this year showed that 62 percent of consumers say they'd lose trust in a brand that used an AI voice without disclosure. Luna: So disclosure is key. But then you have to balance that with the 'magic' — if you slapped a 'This voice is ai generated' label on the ad, does it kill the illusion? Lucas: That's the creative challenge. Some brands are leaning into it — they make the AI voice part of the joke. Like, a fast-food chain ran a spot where the AI voice glitches and says something absurd, and then a human voice cuts in. It's transparent and entertaining. Luna: I saw that one — it was for a pizza brand, right? The AI voice kept messing up the toppings order. It was funny because they owned the artificiality. Lucas: Exactly. That's the smart play. But there's a darker side too: deepfake audio being used to impersonate executives for fraud. We've seen cases where criminals cloned a CEO's voice to authorize wire transfers. That's not marketing, but it's the same technology. Luna: So the same tools that create a fun Drake filter can also be used for social engineering. That has to affect how brands approach this, right? Lucas: Absolutely. Especially for financial services or any brand that handles sensitive data. If you're a bank and you use a cloned celebrity voice in an ad, you're also telling scammers, 'Hey, we think this technology is convincing.' That's a reputational risk. Luna: Let's talk about the creative side. As a marketer, how do you actually get started with voice cloning? Is it expensive? Lucas: It's become shockingly affordable. You can use platforms like ElevenLabs or Respeecher — they have API tiers where for a few hundred dollars you can generate thousands of seconds of audio. For a small brand, you could clone your own CEO's voice for internal training videos for under five hundred bucks. Luna: But if you're cloning a celebrity, you need their permission. How do brands even negotiate that? It's not like standard talent booking. Lucas: It's a new clause in talent contracts. Some agencies now have 'AI voice replication' as a separate line item. The celebrity records a set of sentences — usually about an hour of audio — and the model is trained on that. They get a upfront payment plus residuals based on usage. Think of it like a voiceover session that never ends. Luna: So the celebrity doesn't have to be in a studio every time. That's a win for them and the brand. But what about dead celebrities? I've seen brands use synthesized voices of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. Lucas: That's the thorniest area. The estate controls the likeness, so if they license it, it's legal. But ethically? There's a lot of debate. Some fans find it disrespectful. Others think it's a way to keep the celebrity's spirit alive. For brands, it's risky because you can't control the narrative after the fact — if the estate later sues, you're stuck. Luna: I want to zoom in on TikTok specifically. That platform seems to be the epicenter of voice cloning because of the audio-first format. Lucas: Absolutely. TikTok's duet and stitch features make it easy for users to layer cloned voices on top of existing content. Brands can create a template where a celebrity voice says something, and then users respond. It's user-generated content on steroids. Luna: But isn't TikTok also the platform where these filters get banned? I remember Instagram had to remove a few face filters that used celebrity likeness without permission. Lucas: Right. The platforms are in a tough spot. They want the engagement, but they also face liability. TikTok's terms of service prohibit 'impersonation,' but they rely on users to report. Enforcement is inconsistent. So brands can fly under the radar for a while. Luna: Let's talk numbers. What's the ROI like for a voice-cloning campaign compared to traditional celebrity endorsement? Lucas: According to a report from Influencer Marketing Hub, a traditional celebrity endorsement can cost anywhere from fifty thousand to over a million dollars for a single post. A voice-cloning campaign — even with licensing fees — might run ten to twenty percent of that. And you get infinite variations. So the cost per engagement is often lower. Luna: But engagement quality? If people feel tricked, they might comment negatively, which hurts the algorithm. Lucas: That's the risk. But many brands find that the novelty drives shares and comments, even negative ones. Controversy can be good for reach. The question is whether that reach translates to sales. Early data from a few consumer goods brands shows a modest lift, but nothing revolutionary. Luna: So it's more of a buzz play than a conversion play. That makes sense for awareness campaigns, but not for bottom of funnel. Lucas: Exactly. If you're a DTC brand trying to drive direct sales, you're better off with a testimonial from a real person. But if you want to cut through the noise for a product launch, a cloned celebrity voice can get attention fast. Luna: What about regulation? I know the FTC has been looking into ai generated content. Are there any specific rules for voice cloning? Lucas: As of mid-2026, the FTC has issued guidance that deceptive use of ai generated voices could be considered 'deceptive advertising' under Section 5 of the FTC Act. But there's no specific rule yet. Some states are moving faster — Tennessee passed the ELVIS Act earlier this year, which explicitly protects voice as a property right. Luna: ELVIS Act — that's a great acronym. So if you're a brand based in Tennessee, you have to be extra careful. Lucas: Right. And California is likely to follow with similar legislation. The trend is toward requiring explicit consent for any commercial use of a person's voice. So brands that are experimenting now might be setting precedents that come back to bite them. Luna: Let's pivot to a practical tip. If a marketer is listening and wants to test voice cloning ethically, where should they start? Lucas: I'd say start with your own team. Clone your own voice or a colleague's with permission. Use it for internal videos or A/B test social ads. Learn how the tech works, what the pitfalls are, and how your audience reacts. Then, if you want to scale, work with a reputable agency that handles licensing. Never use a voice without a contract. Luna: And always disclose? Even if it's your own voice cloned? Lucas: For internal use, no. But for any customer-facing content, yes. The trust factor is too important. A simple 'This audio was created with AI' in the caption or video overlay is enough. Some brands put it in the first three seconds. Luna: I think the biggest takeaway for me is that voice cloning isn't going away. It's going to become as common as photo filters. The brands that win are the ones that are transparent and creative, not sneaky. Lucas: Exactly. The technology is a tool — it's how you use it that defines your brand. And given how fast it's evolving, I expect we'll see an entirely new category of 'voice influencers' — synthetic personalities built from scratch, with no human original. Luna: That's a whole other episode. But for now, I think we've covered the key stuff. Thanks for the deep dive. Lucas: Always a pleasure. And if you're curious about trying a voice clone yourself — start small, be honest, and see what happens.