Description
Icelandair takes on AI image fakery with new global content series celebrating the REAL Iceland
Social-first campaign by FleishmanHillard challenges the threat AI poses to authentic cultural experiences and national identity
15th January 2026 – Icelandic national airline Icelandair has unveiled the latest chapter of its ongoing award-winning brand platform, The Real Unreal, launching a bold new social-first content series that champions the authenticity of real travel. The campaign challenges the growing influence of AI-generated imagery, proving that no fake image can compete with the real, in-person experience of Iceland.
The need for Icelandair to take a stand became clear following focus groups revealing that many people believe “images of Iceland look too good to be true.” This insight reflects a wider erosion of trust driven by AI misinformation, with nearly 80% of people concerned about AI-generated or fake travel content, and one in three saying they have felt misled when booking a trip.
Rolling out across Icelandair’s global social channels, the light-hearted video content follows the airline’s Marketing Director as he explores some of Iceland’s most iconic landscapes, from dramatic vistas to encounters with the country’s famous Icelandic horses, playfully challenging the idea that Iceland “looks too good to be real.” He then takes to the streets, asking passers-by one simple question: can they tell real images of Iceland from AI-generated ones?
Even locals struggled to spot fake versions of their own landmarks, while Londoners were surprised to learn that the scenes they assumed were “too good to be true” were, in fact, 100% real photographs.
Gísli S. Brynjólfsson, Director of Marketing and host of the content series, said: “We love AI for many reasons, but no AI-generated image of Iceland can ever replace the real thing. With so many people being fooled by picture-perfect fakes, we wanted to call out the fakery and show off the real Iceland with our Real Unreal campaign. It’s spectacular, incredibly hard to copy, and best experienced in person.”
Reinforcing its commitment to transparency, Icelandair has introduced an internal code of conduct governing how it uses AI, setting clear standards for authenticity and responsible innovation.
This social-first content campaign by FleishmanHillard champions the authenticity of real travel and challenges the threat AI poses to authentic cultural experiences and Icelandic national identity by the growing influence of AI-generated imagery, proving that no fake image can compete with the real experience of Iceland.
Launched globally, the content is available across:
• YouTube: Part 1, Part 2
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTf5RJeCRkm/• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@icelandair_official
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Icelandair/?locale=en_GB
• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/Icelandair/
This professional campaign titled ' Real beauty or AI?' was published in Iceland in January, 2026. It was created for the brand: Icelandair, by ad agency: FleishmanHillard. This Film medium campaign is related to the Transport and Travel and Tourism industries and contains 2 media assets. It was submitted about 2 months ago.
