BEIJING, June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola China launched a new sports marketing campaign featuring a real-time interactive AI avatar of Chinese football icon Fan Zhiyi alongside a World Cup-themed AIGC creative film. Developed in collaboration with Baidu Yijing, Baidu's multi-agent AI avatar platform, the campaign delivers immersive, AI-powered fan engagement experiences.

The Fan Zhiyi AI avatar represents a new generation of interactive AI companions designed for live sports viewing. Powered by Baidu Yijing's advanced AI technologies, the avatar is available 24/7 and supports low-latency, real-time conversations with fans. Recreating Fan's likeness, expressions and voice with remarkable fidelity, it allows users to discuss match action, exchange football insights and engage in authentic conversations throughout the tournament. Unlike traditional virtual characters that rely on pre-programmed content, the avatar offers a dynamic and continuously available experience, bringing fans closer to the game in a new way.

While many World Cup-themed AI marketing activations have focused primarily on AI-generated content, Coca-Cola China's campaign brings together both an AIGC-powered creative film and a virtual football ambassador. The initiative demonstrates how AI can support not only content creation but also consumer engagement at scale. By enabling around-the-clock interactions, the technology helps overcome the scheduling, location and availability constraints traditionally associated with celebrity-led campaigns. Without requiring a spokesperson's ongoing live participation, the avatar can engage with fans at any time, creating an always-on engagement model that extends the reach of celebrity-led campaigns while enabling deeper consumer engagement and lasting audience relationships.

By moving beyond conventional endorsement models, the campaign redefines how celebrity ambassadors can engage with audiences in digital environments, offering a new model for AI-powered marketing in the FMCG sector.