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Is Similarity in Advertising a Double-Edged Sword? The Role of AI-Generated Faces

Arno De Caigny & Gudrun Roose

Journal of Advertising Research2026https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2586185article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Generative AI technologies enable advertising practitioners with new possibilities for hyper-personalized advertising. In this research note, we focus specifically on AI-generated faces (AGF) and investigate its effects on advertising effectiveness. This paper has three main contributions. First, it presents a methodologically innovative way to measure facial similarity by building advances in AI. Second, it contributes theoretically by introducing the too-similar-to-me effect in advertising. Third, it empirically assesses the optimal range of facial similarity, which is of managerial importance when building advertising campaigns. This study provides practitioners with key guidelines on how to successfully embed generative AI technology for advertising.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2586185

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@article{arno2026,
  title        = {{Is Similarity in Advertising a Double-Edged Sword? The Role of AI-Generated Faces}},
  author       = {Arno De Caigny & Gudrun Roose},
  journal      = {Journal of Advertising Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2586185},
}

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Is Similarity in Advertising a Double-Edged Sword? The Role of AI-Generated Faces

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.