The Missing PortrAIts

Much is said about the dangers of AI, but what if we could use AI for hope? This is exactly what Piracanjuba, one of Brazil’s leading dairy brands, did.

Piracanjuba lives its purpose to the fullest: "Doing well what does you good." In a country where one person disappears every six minutes, awareness isn’t enough — action is needed. With 98% household penetration, including areas without internet, Piracanjuba saw an opportunity to take this cause beyond digital barriers. In partnership with Mães da Sé, a global reference in missing persons, Piracanjuba used its own milk packages as a new media to spread this important message.

Created and developed in partnership with its agency of record, Ampfy, The Missing PortrAIts combines Probabilistic Image Synthesis - an AI-driven technique, together with a criminal expert, and analyses data from each person’s family’s characteristics, to update old photos from the day people went missing. Then, they printed these enhanced portraits on Piracanjuba’s milk packaging and distributed it in the supermarkets near to the last locations where those people where last seen.

The initiative turned every milk package, 300 million products, in a new media to help finding a missing person across the country. In the first month of the campaign, they’ve got the most important result: with the campaign’s massive impact, it helped the Institute reunite eight families back together. The more we run, and the more we help.

"A brand as big as Piracanjuba, which has the beautiful goal of helping people, elevates our cause and gives us visibility and reach that we have never had before," notes Ivanise Esperidião da Silva, president of the Mães da Sé Association.

At www.piracanjuba.com.br/desaparecidos, the audience can learn more about the initiative and get additional information about each of the individuals featured in the campaign and many more that couldn’t be featured in this first flight. The Mães da Sé Instagram profile will also showcase pictures, all updated using AI from a single old photograph.

"Missing PortrAIts is a long-term initiative. We are very committed to it and already looking towards its follow-up next year," adds Lisiane Campos, marketing director at Piracanjuba.

This is the first phase of the campaign, which has no set end date and is expected to receive new images in subsequent phases.