Hi the MLE,

First, for those who don’t know, Miquela is a CGI virtual influencer. 
“I’m a 19-year old musician change seeker taco truck expert.” 

One of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People on the Internet 2018. Massive following on Instagram, of course. But what makes her even more bizarre is when she comes to life on YouTube all animated and human-like.

She is the primary product of a company based in LA called “Brud,” with over 40 employees. Of course the company who made her has gone to great lengths to remain hidden… What are they motivations behind creating Miquela? Well, it’s a business, so making money is the main objective. Brud is valued at 125 million dollars.

Like most influencers, she makes a lot of money selling products. Image above has her and Bella Hadid “Getting Surreal” selling Calvin Klein. She also makes a ton of cash promoting various events, like SXSW. Not to mention her music that garners a lot of attention, with hit songs with millions of streams. The list goes on…

Currently Brud has two other characters as well, Bermuda and Blawko, with more in the works. Of course, each addresses a different target market, rather than competing with consumers, together they appeal to a greater consumer base.

Altogether, it’s a brilliant business model, and it is not surprising that it is also extremely lucrative. One of the founders managed the musician Banks before the CGI musician Miquela - I would love to talk to him about his experiences with human vs CGI. 

It seems that real influencers and CGI influencers are exactly the same in most ways. They are both carefully crafted into a particular character. They use the same tactics and scripts to make people feel really connected to them. Can you tell which of the below is from a human or from Miquela? And have you not heard influencers say stuff like this a million times already?

“I’m gonna tell you a story that’s super embarrassing and made me sad for a minute, but maybe some of y’all can relate.”

“The fucked up thing is that if sharing it can help someone else whose gone through something similar feel less alone, then it’s worth it.”

However, CGI characters like Miquela have many advantages. They are free from all the cost and hassle of a human celeb. Brud does not have to pay her a salary, they have complete control over her actions, and she can work around the clock. No need to worry about a troubled personal life, any health problems, or getting caught by the press doing something stupid, etc, etc. And, thank God, she will never grow old or get fat (well not unless it's part of the script).

So will CGI celebs replace real celebs in the future? My guess would be yes. In fact, it is already happening right now. A Fullscreen study found that 42% of Gen Z and Millennials have followed an influencer on social media who they did not know what CGI. But is this really that surprising with apps like Facetune making people look like CGI?

Suzan

Hi hi MLE,

I remember the first time I saw that Chandelier video, it's a stunning, beautiful, creative, unique...  Definitely something I'm not used to seeing on the screens of Fitness First when I'm on the cross trainer.  The best music video I've seen in years.

I don't care about Sia, I have no idea who Kristen Wiig is, and I don't care about the Grammy's, but decided to check out the performance, and it's almost as good as the video. Amazing. Well, at least I think so (I know a lot of people would not agree)...  And I know you don't really keep up with this stuff either so thought I'd share:

Sia - Chandelier (57th GRAMMYs feat. Kristen Wiig & Maddie Ziegler)

Speak soon!

Sxx

Hi MLE,

Well, my path has crossed with Peter Saville's; I've been living here in London for almost seven years now, so it's about time. And what's the two things I should never ever do when this sort of thing happens? 1) go and get my photo taken with him and 2) blog about it. But, that is exactly what I am going to do, haha.

At least my parents would understand, they have no pride either. When my path crossed with my second design hero, Stefan Sagmeister, I was with them, unfortunately. They got so excited about who he was that they chased him down the street shouting, "Sagmeister! Sagmeister! Hello! Over here!" I had to hide in a shop so I never met him obviously.

So this time I made sure I did not miss my chance to meet Mr Saville and I must say he was lovely and it was nice to tell him how much I respect his work.

It's funny, the work of Sagmeister and Saville is very different. Sagmeister is conceptual and easier to appreciate with words, whereas Saville is more abstract and easier to understand emotionally.

There are always a few album covers that still stick out in my mind when I think back to the olden days of CDs and vinyl. Most of them were the work of Saville - my favourites are above. I love Saville's ability to create one strong, single image - which is in large part why he is such a successful album cover designer.

Not to say that Saville can't do Sagmeister style stuff, also above is one of my favourite non-album-cover pieces, the brothel sticker.

Okay I'll stop now.

Oh and I can't wait to see Saville's logo for Kanye West, can't believe my two heroes are collaborating, crazy.

S xx

Dear MLE,

For you today, I have an incredible video of Gainsbourg in his prime...  what could be better? Had to send, as I know you are a big fan as well. This song is, of course, about Brigitte Bardot with whom he had a fling in 67.  What a lucky lucky woman.  Sigh... Okay, anyway... une magnifique dédicace...

Initials B.B.

Gainsbourg was actually one of the first to sample, and for this song it is the Symphonie n° 9 « Du nouveau monde » from Dvořák. He also uses the first couple verses from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven.

The song is a beautiful poem, this being my favourite part:

Jusques en haut des cuisses, elle est bottée
Et c'est comme un calice à sa beauté
Elle ne porte rien d'autre qu'un peu
D'essence de Guerlain dans les cheveux

Talk soon.  And don't forget to send me that email.

Oh and would you like to see me cry?  Cry with joy?  Then buy me the bacon scarf from the post below for Christmas. Amazing.

xxx