Brazil – Volkswagen’s short film celebrating its 70th anniversary in Brazil went viral overnight in July 2023 for featuring singers Maria Rita and her late mother, Elis Regina, singing together while driving.

Creative agency AlmapBBDO and production company Boiler Filmes brought Regina’s face and voice to life using deepfake and AI technology. The pop singer died in 1981 when her daughter Maria Rita was only three years old. Both are re-united thanks to technology in the promotional film showing Rita driving the ID Buzz – the 100% electric version of the firm’s signature Kombi – and her mother Elis driving a classic Volkswagen model.

‘The campaign uses sophisticated technology for a very human purpose: emotion,’ says Marco Giannelli, also known as Pernill, the chief creative officer of AlmapBBDO. ‘We are promoting an unprecedented duet that was only possible in the imagination and that now becomes absolutely real during the two-minute film.’

The campaign hints at new opportunities for a tech-powered funeral industry that we previously analysed in our Digital Afterlife Market report. AlmapBBDO also perfectly embraced the elasticity required from creative agencies to use AI as a way to create even more meaningful connections and emotions between brands and consumers.

Europe – The Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel study, conducted by the European Travel Commission (ETC), which looked at projections for traveller behaviour from June to November 2023, suggests seaside destinations in the region around the Mediterranean are becoming less popular. Based on data collected in May 2023 from Europeans in 10 high-volume source markets, the study shows a 10% drop in the number of European travellers planning to visit Mediterranean destinations compared with 2022.

Although Spain remains the most popular destination for travellers, with 7.6% planning a holiday there next, cooler countries like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Denmark are experiencing a surge in popularity. The report shows that European travellers are seeking less crowded destinations and milder temperatures. According to Miguel Sanz, president of ETC, they are also ‘hunting for alternative travel choices, looking for more affordable experiences or considering off-season travel to stretch their budgets’ more than ever.

As explored in our Travel & Hospitality section, industry players have to simultaneously deal with rising inflation and travellers searching for experiences at the right price point. Assisting those going off the beaten track and travelling in the less busy months is a new challenge for an industry used to a seasonal influx of visitors.