Willie Nelson has teamed up with Meow Wolf to promote the art collective’s latest project. Well, we think he has anyway.
In a bizarre new video released by Meow Wolf promoting it’s upcoming Omega Mart installation in Las Vegas, US, Nelson answers the question “What is Omega Mart?” in a 70's-style ad for the fictional super market.
“Omega Mart is just a totally normal supermarket in Las Vegas and I’m a celebrity you can trust,” says Nelson in the video as his face flickers before declaring “yep, that’s me”.
Nelson then takes a carton of milk out of the refrigerator, which acts like Windows 95 on low memory as it duplicates across the screen, before releasing it in mid air only for it to remain in place.
A number of further strange events occur as Nelson explores the store, including a member of staff seemingly laying an egg from his mouth and another’s hand emerging from a pile of oranges, before sprouting branches and leaves.
“Around here, the only thing that’s suspicious, are the prices,” says Nelson, whose face flickers again before declaring the store to be “Willy good value”.
The video finishes with Nelson singing an Omega Mart jingle as his face continues to flicker back and forth between his and that of another person, while the rest of the store suddenly find themselves all sporting the face of the music icon.
Stuck on this unsettling image, Nelson then plays the same out of tune note repeatedly on a guitar for 32 seconds until the end of the video.
Deepfakes
So the question is, is it actually Willie Nelson, or is it a deepfake? Or is it Willie Nelson deepfaked so we think it's not actually him? It’s a mind bending question with seemingly only mysterious answers.
“Yes, we partnered with Dramcorp to get Willie Nelson to be Omega Mart’s spokesperson,” said Vince Kadlubek, MeowWolf’s founder via LinkedIn. “It’s Willie him too. Deeply him,” he added, hinting at the possibility Nelson was deepfaked.
Deepfakes - a synthetic kind of media - is a growing tech trend in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness, creating an almost indistinguishable replica.
The technology has a number of artistic applications, including in film, where it has been used to bring back deceased actors. The technology has a dark side though, with deepfakes garnering widespread attention for fake news, hoaxes, financial fraud and more.
In the UK, Channel 4 broadcast an alternate Christmas Message from Queen Elizabeth II on Christmas Day, creating a deepfaked video of Elizabeth that aired across the country. The deepfake ironically called for people to “trust in what is genuine and what is not”.
Meow Wolf describes the venture as an “open-world video game”, with all of Omega Mart’s products having the “uncanny ability to fulfil desires beyond expectation”.
Omega Mart will be the anchor tenant of AREA15 – an “immersive experiential bazaar” that will reimagine retail and entertainment.
Willie Nelson has teamed up with Meow Wolf to promote the art collective’s latest project. Well, we think he has anyway.
In a bizarre new video released by Meow Wolf promoting it’s upcoming Omega Mart installation in Las Vegas, US, Nelson answers the question “What is Omega Mart?” in a 70's-style ad for the fictional super market.
“Omega Mart is just a totally normal supermarket in Las Vegas and I’m a celebrity you can trust,” says Nelson in the video as his face flickers before declaring “yep, that’s me”.
Nelson then takes a carton of milk out of the refrigerator, which acts like Windows 95 on low memory as it duplicates across the screen, before releasing it in mid air only for it to remain in place.
A number of further strange events occur as Nelson explores the store, including a member of staff seemingly laying an egg from his mouth and another’s hand emerging from a pile of oranges, before sprouting branches and leaves.
“Around here, the only thing that’s suspicious, are the prices,” says Nelson, whose face flickers again before declaring the store to be “Willy good value”.
The video finishes with Nelson singing an Omega Mart jingle as his face continues to flicker back and forth between his and that of another person, while the rest of the store suddenly find themselves all sporting the face of the music icon.
Stuck on this unsettling image, Nelson then plays the same out of tune note repeatedly on a guitar for 32 seconds until the end of the video.
Deepfakes
So the question is, is it actually Willie Nelson, or is it a deepfake? Or is it Willie Nelson deepfaked so we think it's not actually him? It’s a mind bending question with seemingly only mysterious answers.
“Yes, we partnered with Dramcorp to get Willie Nelson to be Omega Mart’s spokesperson,” said Vince Kadlubek, MeowWolf’s founder via LinkedIn. “It’s Willie him too. Deeply him,” he added, hinting at the possibility Nelson was deepfaked.
Deepfakes - a synthetic kind of media - is a growing tech trend in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness, creating an almost indistinguishable replica.
The technology has a number of artistic applications, including in film, where it has been used to bring back deceased actors. The technology has a dark side though, with deepfakes garnering widespread attention for fake news, hoaxes, financial fraud and more.
In the UK, Channel 4 broadcast an alternate Christmas Message from Queen Elizabeth II on Christmas Day, creating a deepfaked video of Elizabeth that aired across the country. The deepfake ironically called for people to “trust in what is genuine and what is not”.
Meow Wolf describes the venture as an “open-world video game”, with all of Omega Mart’s products having the “uncanny ability to fulfil desires beyond expectation”.
Omega Mart will be the anchor tenant of AREA15 – an “immersive experiential bazaar” that will reimagine retail and entertainment.
