Swedish engineering group SKF, best known for making ball bearings, has stirred up a cultural and business debate with its latest advertising campaign. The company launched a spot featuring an AI-generated version of Greta Garbo, the legendary 1930s Hollywood actress, in what is being called a high-profile case of “synthetic resurrection.”
SKF says it rebuilt Garbo’s likeness using text prompts and modern AI video tools, then cloned her voice from a single early-film audio clip. The company says it had permission to use that clip and that a human actor helped refine the final result. It also says it worked with the Greta Garbo estate and her family on the project.
The ad has drawn both backlash and praise, highlighting how quickly generative AI is moving from novelty to mainstream marketing tool. For everyday investors, the story is less about Garbo herself and more about what it signals for the companies using this technology—and the risks they may be taking on.
What is synthetic resurrection?
Synthetic resurrection refers to the practice of using AI to recreate the appearance, voice, or mannerisms of a deceased person for new performances. It is not entirely new—film studios have used digital effects to bring actors back before—but generative AI has made the process far cheaper, faster, and more accessible.
In this case, SKF did not need hours of archival footage or a massive visual-effects team. Instead, it used text prompts to generate Garbo’s likeness and a short voice clip to clone her speech. That efficiency is exactly why the technology is spreading so quickly across advertising and entertainment.
But the practice raises thorny questions. Who owns a person’s digital likeness after death? What happens when a family approves a use that the public finds distasteful? And how do brands balance the novelty of a famous face with the risk of appearing gimmicky or disrespectful?
Why SKF did it
SKF is a 100-year-old industrial company, not a consumer brand. Its products—bearings, seals, and lubrication systems—are invisible to most people. The company likely saw the Garbo campaign as a way to grab attention and make a stodgy engineering firm feel modern.
Garbo was known for her reclusiveness and her famous line, “I want to be alone.” Using her image in an ad is a bold creative choice, and it has certainly generated buzz. But buzz does not always translate into sales, and for a B2B company like SKF, the direct link to revenue is even less clear.
Still, the campaign is a reminder that AI is not just a tech-sector story. Industrial firms, banks, and consumer goods companies are all experimenting with generative AI to cut costs and stand out. That trend is worth watching because it could affect how companies spend money and how they manage their brands.
What it means for investors
For investors, the SKF ad is a small but telling example of how AI is reshaping marketing. Companies that adopt AI tools early may gain a cost advantage, but they also take on legal and reputational risks. The Garbo campaign shows how quickly a creative decision can become a public debate.
There is also a regulatory angle. As synthetic media becomes more common, lawmakers may step in to require consent from estates or to label AI-generated content. That could raise compliance costs for companies that rely heavily on such technology.
For now, the broader market backdrop is mixed. Factory data from around the world has been uneven, with US factory growth cooling slightly and UK factory costs rising again. SKF itself is a manufacturer, so it is exposed to the same global industrial cycle. The Garbo ad may be a distraction, but investors should keep an eye on the company’s core business fundamentals.
Ultimately, the SKF campaign is a sign of the times. Generative AI is lowering the barrier to creating lifelike digital humans, and that has implications far beyond one Swedish ball-bearings maker. Whether you find the ad clever or creepy, it is a reminder that AI is now a mainstream business tool—and that its use will keep raising questions that have no easy answers.
