If your IMs with your friends leave you wanting a bit more, consider striking up a conversation with Miss Piggy instead. According to her Facebook page, she’s very responsive to messages. Thanks to a particularly brilliant use of artificial intelligence by marketing platform Imperson, you can now live chat with the host of Up Late with Miss Piggy (yes, the character from The Muppets) via Facebook Messenger every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am to 11 am PST. Calling it a chance to get to know “the real Miss Piggy,” the masterminds behind the experience hope that audiences will find new ways to engage with on-screen personalities, off-screen.
“I see this as a gift to all those who love me, who admire me … and who have always dreamed the impossible dream of chatting with me,” said Miss Piggy in a related statement. “Here’s your chance. Come and get it!”
Noting that “this one-on-one viewer outreach is a first for a star of Miss Piggy’s magnitude,” Imperson claims that the real clincher is the innovative use of AI, which is fully responsible for powering the chat experience with one of Disney’s most recognizable characters. Whereas a human being might not be able to keep up multiple chats at once (and maintain the same level of wit and celebrity charm), machines certainly don’t have that issue. Ah, the joys of being inanimate.
As of December 7, Miss Piggy’s Facebook page features a “Message” button, which allows anyone to message the star in real time on Facebook’s messaging platform and strike up a unique conversation. Kermit the Frog, who is listed as the executive producer of Up Late, sees this as an opportunity for fans to get to know the real Miss Piggy. “I think having a conversation with Miss Piggy will give fans a good idea of what I go through every day. I think everyone will learn something, plus I’ll get an hour of peace and quiet while she’s chatting with fans. Win-win!”
The real winner, of course, is probably Imperson, whose ability to create conversational characters appears to be a highly engaging strategy for brands looking to tell interesting stories in a novel way. So if you’re in need of a spokesperson, you may want to consider AI.
