WPP partners with NVIDIA to create generative 3D landscapes and worlds for advertisers

The company is also collaborating with Shutterstock to accelerate the building of 3D worlds that feature brand-compliant products.

On July 29, 2024, WPP at Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH), the annual computer graphics conference, unveiled the next phase in its partnership with NVIDIA – using new NVIDIA NIM microservices or Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) generative AI models,  built on the NVIDIA Omniverse platform, to create generative 3D landscapes and worlds.

WPP is the first company to test and utilise the new NVIDIA NIM microservices for OpenUSD. The company is also collaborating with Shutterstock to accelerate the building of 3D worlds that feature brand-compliant products, with 3D generative AI powered by NVIDIA NIM  microservices.

As part of the collaboration announced last year, WPP has worked closely with NVIDIA to develop AI  innovations that can be applied to marketing and production, and deployed in client campaigns.

In particular, WPP’s Creative Technology Apprentices – a cohort of next-generation technology creatives trained in-house by WPP and its production company Hogarth – have been integral to the testing and evolution of NVIDIA’s new technologies.

NVIDIA’s new USD Search NIM and USD Code NIM microservices allow creative teams to build on WPP visual content already in existence, or search for 3D objects from a Shutterstock library of nearly 1.3 million 3D assets.

The USD Search NIM microservice is used to explore the visual archive, while the USD Code NIM microservice helps build a virtual environment object by object, move items around on command, and assemble objects into scenes.

WPP’s creative teams are able to reduce multiple layers of the production process, enabling  3D worlds to be built at scale and to be adapted to create culturally relevant or audience-specific campaigns that can be used in local markets.

The new generative AI 3D tools are available to WPP’s thousands of production experts worldwide through the recently launched Production Studio housed on the company’s intelligent marketing operating system  WPP Open, or through custom solutions for individual clients.

The Coca-Cola Company will be one of the first of  WPP’s clients to begin scaling the opportunities of generative 3D across its 100 markets,  working with its dedicated marketing team WPP Open X to roll out the use of Prod X, a WPP=built custom production studio, across its marketing operations.

WPP has also been working with Ford to build physically accurate, real-time digital twins of its vehicles to create car configurators that customers can explore and adapt according to their needs, generating demand for new cars before they hit the production line.

Stephan Pretorius, chief technology officer, WPP, said, “The evolution of our collaboration with NVIDIA underscores how WPP is innovating to lead in AI for the benefit of our clients. With early access to the latest technologies through our intelligent marketing  operating system WPP Open, we’re able to build on our library of 3D models to construct new  digital worlds at scale and create brand-compliant campaigns that can be adapted to resonate  with multiple audiences.”

Rev Lebaredian, vice president - omniverse and simulation technology at NVIDIA, said, “By adopting NVIDIA’s new USD Search and USD Code NIM microservices, WPP’s creative teams can create significantly more diverse, high-fidelity and physically accurate 3D virtual  environments and deliver more innovative and effective marketing content to clients.”