This brief we do not take
By Syntax Motion, Vienna. Updated: 16 October 2026
There is one enquiry that would be technically easy, would pay well, and that we turn down all the same. It stands here because it shows the line we draw, and because we would rather explain it beforehand than in the middle of a project.
The enquiry
It is about generated customer voices for a website. Not real ones: several people are to be created who talk about their experience with the product. Realistic, of different ages, with different backgrounds. It is usually meant as a design question, comparable to models in an advertisement.
Technically that would not be a big project. Short sentences work well in generation, and the people would not even have to speak for long.
Why we say no anyway
A model in an advertisement claims nothing. A person who says "the product helped me" claims something about reality, namely that this experience existed. If the person is invented, the statement is invented, no matter how convincing it looks. This is not a matter of taste: misleading claims about product properties are prohibited under unfair competition law, and the risk sits with the advertiser in the end, not with the agency.
There was a practical reason on top. Films like this get found out. Not through technology, but because someone searches for the person's name and finds nothing. What stays in memory then is not the product.
What we proposed instead
- Ask three real customers whether they have two minutes. That is the part everyone avoids, and it takes a week.
- Record with the phone, after a short briefing: light from the front, device at eye level, a quiet room.
- Production around it: edit, sound, subtitles, a replaced background, additional scenes from AI.
- Written consent, half a page with purpose and duration.
The result is real, still looks produced, costs less than a shoot and holds up when someone asks. The detailed route is in the guide AI testimonial video.
Where else we say no
- Likenesses of real people without their consent, public figures included, drafts included.
- Recruiting films with invented staff. Applicants see the real workplace on the first day at the latest, see recruiting video.
- Before and after depictions that show an effect the product does not have.
- Subjects that only half work in generation. An honest no is cheaper than a film that does not fit the brand.
Why this stands here
Because the question comes up in almost every first call, usually carefully worded. It is easier to give the answer in public beforehand than to explain it in a running project. And whoever does not agree with it finds another agency faster.
Frequently asked questions
Can customer testimonials be generated with AI?
A real customer statement may be edited, translated or illustrated with AI if the person has agreed. An invented person describing an experience that never happened is misleading advertising, no matter how convincing it looks.
Do you turn down briefs often?
Rarely, and almost always for the same reason: the piece would have claimed something that is not true. More often we advise against one part of a project and propose a shoot for that part.
What happens if we insist?
Then we decline and give the reason in writing. That is cheaper for both sides than a project we would have to end halfway through.
Read on: All posts • AI testimonial video • AI labelling duty
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