"Inhuman accounts": how virtual influencers are conquering the Internet

Who are they?

A virtual influencer is a computer-generated character with a human appearance. He has an invented biography, exists only on the Internet, is active in social networks and is very popular among users. There are dozens of photos on his blog where he meets with friends, eats gourmet meals, relaxes on the sea, and is also reflected in the mirror and casts a shadow - just like people. Only this is an imaginary reality.

How it all began: popular "cartoons"

The first digital celebrities appeared 20 years ago. At the turn of the century, a couple of adventurous guys - Blur frontman Damon Albarn and graphic designer Jamie Hewlett - formed the virtual band Gorillaz. During concerts live musicians played behind a translucent screen. Video clips were broadcast on it so that only the contours of real people were visible. Few were interested in what the real members of Gorillaz looked like and how many there actually are. After all, this music was associated precisely with cartoon characters, the number of which varied from album to album. And one of the most frequent comments on videos from the band's live performances, where Albarn is no longer hiding from the audience, is surprise that he is real.

In Russia, the Gluk'oZa project, created in the early 2000s, took up the baton. Until 2003, there was an intrigue about who was hiding under the virtual avatar of "lady with a dog". Then the fans were presented with Natalia Ionova, but although the secret had already been revealed, the producer of the project, Maxim Fadeev, continued to use the avatar and animated videos. And the real Ionova appeared only at concerts.

In both cases, these were not completely virtual characters - in fact, just masks of real people. That all changed when, in the late 2000s, the Japanese created Vocaloid, the digital pop singer Miku Hatsune. In her homeland, she became a real star. Her songs are at the top of the charts, her image is used in video gamesMiku participates in commercials and performs as a duet with live performers. And although the image of Vocaloid is completely cartoonish, her popularity attracted the fashion industry so much that the famous fashion designer Marc Jacobs designed concert clothes for Miku. The creation of Japanese programmers is perhaps the final stage of the transition from real personalities to virtual influencers.

How virtual influencers came to the blogosphere

Real stars are too far from common people. Therefore, it is not surprising that those who are closer - bloggers often received no less recognition. Many of them are strongly associated with the "guys from our yard" who were helped to become popular not by venerable producers with thick wallets, but by their own charisma and a smartphone camera.

That is why today's bloggers have thousands or even millions of people, and the most grateful, in order to take an example, age - schoolchildren and students. Bloggers have long become influencers for them - people who can influence others with their opinions or preferences.

At the junction technologies and the blogger market and virtual influencers appeared.

CGI models (Computer Generated Imagery) have become the new stars and muses of designers. The images of such characters are collective qualities that, according to the developers, ideally meet the needs of a wide audience.

The popularity of virtual influencers at first was brought about by their realistic appearance. And there is also a heated debate among fans: is this a real person or a talented digital model? Nowadays, development companies are actively promoting virtual influencers.

You have to understand that not every animated character, even with millions of fans, is a digital influencer. For example, the already mentioned Miku Hatsune does not apply to them, although it was created using computer graphics, has a background and is known by millions. Key feature virtual influencers, as it was said at the very beginning, is that they "live" like ordinary people. They share their thoughts and emotions, talk about realities, post moments of their day on social networks, as each of us does.

Virtual influencers: from popular to almost unknown

1. Shudu gram

Dark-skinned supermodel is at the origin of the digital sphere Shudu Graham. At the moment, her Instagram profile has almost 200 thousand subscribers. Shudu's creator, fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson, claims to have never profited from Shudu's look. Its sole purpose is supposedly to add variety. in fashion and play space.

The popularity of the digital supermodel brought the photo with Rihanna's Fenty Beauty lipstick: the post was reposted by the brand itself.

2. Lil miquela

Lil Mikela (or Mikela Sousa) is a virtual character created by Brud. Souza's Instagram account has been around since 2016 and has already collected 2 million subscribers. The popularity is partly due to the fact that the developers did not leave her in splendid isolation, but added a friend BLAWKO and a rival girlfriend Bermuda. The digital model fills her Instagram with photos, collaborates with fashion brands and communicates with the press, and at a fairly serious level. For example, in an interview with The Business of Fashion, Mikela shares her plans for future. And she also insists that she be considered an artist "who is not afraid to express unpopular opinions, even if they cost her fans."

3. Bermuda

At the beginning of 2018, fans were diligently fans of Michele Sousa, when suddenly one day in her account there were deleted all the photos, and instead of them only one was published - an unfamiliar blonde, presented Bermuda and who said that she hacked Michela's Instagram.

The dispute between the two digital characters lasted for some time, actively supported by individual media outlets. Bermuda was allegedly invented by Brud's rivals, Cain Intelligence. According to legend, it also created Lil Mikela herself to make her a "digital slave". But Brud bought the character out, freed it, and led to popularity. The success of the former ward did not like Cain Intelligence, so the company decided to take revenge. As a result, it turned out that Brud's creatives were behind the hack. Today, digital models work in pairs, and Bermuda has about 10 times fewer subscribers than her friend.

4. BLAWKO

At Michela Sousa's friend Ronnie Blawko 158 thousand followers on Instagram. He publishes photographs in which he communicates and rests with real people. Periodically he is engaged quite responsible matters: for example, she goes to interviews with her friend. For the influx of subscribers, the developers organized Ronnie's "relationship" with Bermuda, and then their loud parting.

5. Noonoouri

Digital model Nunyuri collected 350 thousand followers on Instagram, although it does not resemble a living person, but a doll. This does not prevent her from keeping her finger on the pulse of life and taking pictures with real people. Her modeling career is enviable. The digital girl virtually performed at the shows of Gucci, Tom Ford and other world-famous fashion houses.

6. Imma

Japanese digital model Imma almost indistinguishable from a real person even on close inspection. Some pictures show how roots "grow back" on her dyed pink hair. For i-D magazine, Imma posed for close-ups and answered questions in interviews with real-life models. Judging by the description in the profile, the girl is interested in Japanese culture, cinema and other types of art. In one of the last photos, Imma complains about quarantine and is glad that she managed to visit the cherry blossoms this year.

7. Laila blue

Virtual girl was established in 2018. The developers settled her in the UAE and made her half French, half Lebanese. Laila's subscribers are disappointingly few - less than 1,000. The reason, apparently, is that no one has been promoting it for more than a year. She holds the title of the first virtual influencer in the Middle East and is proud to be on the cover of the women's magazine Grazia.

8. Kira

She - the first digital model created by Russian developers. Kira also has few subscribers - just over 2,000. But in any case, this shows that she is also interesting to someone. There is not much information about Kira on the Internet, but the girl still gave an interview to Wonderzine. The model talked about studying at MGIMO, about her favorite places and even about how her parents met. True, then she named all the memories fakewhich is not surprising.

Why all this?

A virtual character most often appears when its creators want to get some hype on the Internet. It is difficult to imagine how quickly these models can be monetized, but the direction seems to be very promising. After all, marketers who work with digital persons are insured against their scandalous antics, communication problems and missed deadlines. In addition, you can seriously save on operators, makeup artists and other accompanying human influencer.

A digital “employee” can simultaneously participate in different projects, which people cannot physically afford. It also fully meets modern realities, including the need for self-isolation. in the face of coronavirus. No disengagement from production - the digital blogger is always ready to go.