Snickers has announced a new signing, in time for the summer of football: football manager José Mourinho. In a first of its kind partnership, the brand has teamed up with José to pioneer a fully authorized AI clone, ready to take on Own Goals for football fans across the globe.  

Wondering how Mourinho plans to spend the summer season? Thanks to Snickers, the speculation is finally over. His task? To coach football fans out of the Own Goal mistakes they score this summer with the help of an authorized AI clone.

To create personalized videos of José for any fan submitting an Own Goal, Snickers has made pioneering use of AI. The first of its kind, in partnership with T&Pm and Helo, powered by ElevenLabs, Synclabs, and Open AI GPT 4.0, sees eight separate stages in the AI pipeline create a unique "chain of thought" architecture. Including safeguarding, to ensure consistently entertaining and brand-safe original content, helping each output to feel unique without relying on templated content. 

It’s a busy summer of football ahead and fans are expected to make more gaffes, or Own Goals, than ever. Whether it’s accidentally buying flights to Dortmund not Düsseldorf, or getting a selfie with a much-ridiculed half-and-half scarf.

The platform plays into a cultural truth that social media-fueled fan-banter surrounding football attracts more buzz than the actual football.

Snickers partnered with Meta to integrate this bespoke AI-powered Jose with WhatsApp, a unique integration that allows consumers to bring their personalized interactions with Jose into the communities and conversations they care about most.

No other AI-powered campaign has used the technology in this exact way before: trained to deeply mimic the personality of a major talent, to generate limitless pieces of original video content, and designed to be shared to many. 

“At Mars, we believe in building Brand Worlds where iconic brands create remarkable experiences for their fans and communities inviting them to engage and co-create together. Always at the center of culture, always moving at the speed of technology," says Gülen Bengi, chief growth officer Mars Snacking and lead CMO Mars Inc.

"Our first-of-its-kind Snickers campaign stands as a testament to this, delivering consumer co-creation and personalization at a scale that was unimaginable until very recently, before GenAI became part of our toolbox. I’m very proud of our brand builders embracing the possibilities, enhancing creativity and doing it responsibly. As we navigate this new frontier of AI-enhanced brand building, it's crucial that we keep a pioneering mindset tempered by caution, always putting safety and ethics first," he finishes.

"This campaign is indeed a special one. A great brand, an iconic coach, and innovation at its heart; using AI to create mass personalised entertainment in a way that has never been done before and could never have been done before," says Toby Allen, chief creative officer at T&Pm. "All made possible with human intelligence, [and] a team of over 70 people worked together."

The campaign has already been teased with social videos of the real José on Snickers and José’s social channels during the Champions League Final and in the build-up to the Euros.

The tool goes live on June 25, supported by posts from influencers sharing and reacting to their own José video created using the tool, plus 6” paid and organic social, directing fans to generate their own videos. Users are encouraged to share links to their bespoke videos with friends and on group chats.

Unlike typical football tournament sponsorships, this fan-centric approach uses fans to amplify the brand’s message. The campaign is part of Mars Wrigley’s strategy of putting personalization and fandom at the heart of its “world-building” strategy for Snickers. By involving fans in the co-creation process, the brand aims to develop a deeper relationship with consumers, driving exponential social sharing and conversation. 

The campaign marks another significant step towards Snickers achieving its goal of becoming the number one confectionery brand for football fans by the end of 2025.

Mars is on the current Candy Industry “Global Top 100 Candy Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Global Top 100” rankings.