Backseat Bedlam
Actors have it rough. They have to compete with other actors for even the most lowly roles and can go for years or even a lifetime without making enough money to buy a car that is under 10 years old or live in an apartment without roommates. After years of rejection, disappointment, and relatives asking, “Does he have a real job yet?”, when an opportunity to offer your smiling countenance up for a few thousand bucks comes along, it has to be considered.
Such was the case with struggling Korean actor Simon Lee, who signed his image over to an AI marketing company, thinking the money would help him move his acting career forward. Instead he was horrified to see himself on TikTok and Instagram, dressed as a surgeon or a gynecologist, hawking dubious healthcare products. The contract he signed, likely extremely one-sided, did not allow him to have any say in how his image was used and gave him no ‘removal’ options, leaving his image available to sell weight-loss remedies and other questionable products.
AI marketing firms, as we have noted in the past, develop a menu of human-based facial and body images that they sell/rent to clients who can use them for whatever their needs. The larger the model gallery, the more chance a potential client will see a face they like and sign on with the agency. From the agency’s perspective, buying a human image for a few thousand dollars gives them the potential to resell it many times over, at a cost that is lower than what it would cost to film an actor for each client spot, and that digital image can be molded into whatever the client believes will sell the most product.
In Mr. Lee’s case he became a doctor in order to legitimize sketchy products, which were a bit less helpful to his career than he might have thought when signing the contract. A few hours of filming movements and facial expressions seemed an easy job for a few thousand dollars but unless a lawyer reviewed the contract (most likely not), he gave up all of his rights, (no pornography, alcohol or tobacco ads are usually highlighted in the contract to give a sense of protection the actor’s image), while including fine print that allows the agency to use the image for almost anything else.
It’s a new world and those looking to capitalize on it, either legitimately or not, have the early advantage as the legal system is slow to understand the nuance of AI and digital advertising. Since there are few legal protections specific to human image use, before you decide to sell your image to an agency, have a lawyer read the contract, even if it means sleeping in your car for a few more days…
Such was the case with struggling Korean actor Simon Lee, who signed his image over to an AI marketing company, thinking the money would help him move his acting career forward. Instead he was horrified to see himself on TikTok and Instagram, dressed as a surgeon or a gynecologist, hawking dubious healthcare products. The contract he signed, likely extremely one-sided, did not allow him to have any say in how his image was used and gave him no ‘removal’ options, leaving his image available to sell weight-loss remedies and other questionable products.
AI marketing firms, as we have noted in the past, develop a menu of human-based facial and body images that they sell/rent to clients who can use them for whatever their needs. The larger the model gallery, the more chance a potential client will see a face they like and sign on with the agency. From the agency’s perspective, buying a human image for a few thousand dollars gives them the potential to resell it many times over, at a cost that is lower than what it would cost to film an actor for each client spot, and that digital image can be molded into whatever the client believes will sell the most product.
In Mr. Lee’s case he became a doctor in order to legitimize sketchy products, which were a bit less helpful to his career than he might have thought when signing the contract. A few hours of filming movements and facial expressions seemed an easy job for a few thousand dollars but unless a lawyer reviewed the contract (most likely not), he gave up all of his rights, (no pornography, alcohol or tobacco ads are usually highlighted in the contract to give a sense of protection the actor’s image), while including fine print that allows the agency to use the image for almost anything else.
It’s a new world and those looking to capitalize on it, either legitimately or not, have the early advantage as the legal system is slow to understand the nuance of AI and digital advertising. Since there are few legal protections specific to human image use, before you decide to sell your image to an agency, have a lawyer read the contract, even if it means sleeping in your car for a few more days…
RSS Feed