然而，虚拟人真的永不“塌房”吗？
首秀收入超百万
“汪！汪！汪汪！汪！”这是海外虚拟主播Shoto5月9日在B站的第一个视频投稿。在视频中，拥有紫发紫瞳的二次元男孩形象Shoto在学小狗叫。短短48秒的视频，却成为投稿当日B站全站排行榜第一。
6月19日，Shoto在B站开始了自己的直播首秀。在直播受停电影响延迟期间，众多粉丝依然等候在直播间内不停刷新。有媒体统计，在2个多小时的直播中，Shoto收到了超百万元的粉丝打赏。
6月19日，Shoto在B站的直播首秀。 截图自B站。
Shoto强大的吸金能力一度成为微博热搜话题，事实上，在新生代消费群体崛起和元宇宙概念的火爆加持下，曾为“小众”代表的虚拟人正逐渐显现其商业价值。
作为已经成熟的中国虚拟歌姬IP，“洛天依”曾多次与各类品牌进行跨界联动，合作范围涵盖游戏、美妆、洗护、食品饮料等多个品类，肯德基、护舒宝、百雀羚、光明乳业、长安汽车等多个品牌。
此外，不少品牌也孵化了自己的虚拟形象。例如麦当劳一改经典形象“麦当劳叔叔”，于2021年上线了虚拟形象“开心姐姐”；肯德基的桑德斯上校爷爷则由真人出演，变为了由CGI技术合成的“虚拟形象”。
虚拟主播的尽头也是带货
直播的尽头是带货，对于虚拟主播来说，也同样如此。
2020年6月，洛天依走进天猫全明星直播间，与头部真人主播上演了一场梦幻联动，成为首位破圈“带货”的虚拟歌姬。同月，虚拟偶像鼻祖“初音未来”入驻淘宝直播，并一度超越朱一龙、王一博等明星，成为天猫“6·18”明星榜榜一。
除与知名IP合作外，一些品牌、电商平台以及MCN机构也用自身孵化的虚拟主播进行带货。例如在网易严选首页的直播悬浮窗上，每天早上10点前、晚上12点后，都是由虚拟人进行直播。
网易伏羲开发的虚拟数字人“林幺幺”。 截图自网易严选官方微博。
“虚拟主播可以用来填补真人主播没有办法出镜的空白时间，我们通过测试发现，在同一个时段，虚拟人直播带货的流水能够达到真人带货流水的30%，而它的成本却是微乎其微。”网易伏羲产品经理阁语对此表示。
虚拟主播也“塌房”
对于品牌方来说，选择真人明星代言，往往意味着在合作中两者的形象休戚与共、一损俱损，而在明星“塌房”后，品牌也往往在“割席”中面临巨大损失。与之相比，拥有固定人设的虚拟人形象似乎更加稳定，可以一劳永逸地解决“塌房”问题。
然而事实并非如此。
5月31日，B站虚拟主播“柏凛Porin”所属社团MOFU-F发布辟谣声明称，此前“柏凛Porin”发布的视频《关于我消失了半年其实是被拐卖了这件事》，“经过警方的查证，该内容不属实。”随后，B站宣布对“柏凛Porin”账号永久封禁。
虚拟主播“柏凛Porin”因发布虚假视频被永久封禁。 截图自B站。
同月，被视为“国内虚拟偶像天花板”的虚拟女团A-Soul，因伽乐“中之人”宣布进入“直播休眠”，深陷劳资风波。
此前，B站电竞旗下虚拟形象“柒柒_Ranoca”被指涉嫌抄袭另一虚拟主播“格蕾缇娅Gretia”面部形象。对此，哔哩哔哩电竞官方对VUP艺人经纪部负责人等相关人员进行了相应处罚。
这一系列的虚拟主播“塌房”事件，向我们揭示了一件被忽略的事实：即使是形象再精致、人设再丰满的虚拟主播，其背后运营者也是活生生的人。而在虚拟主播开辟的蓝海前，形象审核、行业监管等方面仍有空白亟需填补。
However, is it true that virtual people never “collapse”?
The income of the first show is more than one million.
“woof! Woof! Woof! woof! Woof! ” This is the first video contribution made by overseas virtual anchor Shoto on bilibili on May 9. In the video, Shoto, a two-dimensional boy with purple hair and purple pupil, barks like a puppy. The short 48-second video became the number one ranking of bilibili on the day of the contribution.
Shoto made its live debut in bilibili on June 19th. During the delay of the live broadcast affected by the power outage, many fans are still waiting to refresh in the studio. According to media statistics, during the more than 2 hours of live broadcast, Shoto received more than one million yuan in rewards from fans.
On June 19th, Shoto made its debut live on bilibili. Screenshot from bilibili.
Shoto’s strong money-absorbing ability once became a hot topic on Weibo. In fact, with the rise of a new generation of consumer groups and the hot blessing of the concept of meta-universe, the virtual human, once represented by a “minority”, is gradually showing its commercial value.
As a mature Chinese virtual GE Ji IP, Luotianyi has carried out cross-border linkage with various brands for many times, covering games, makeup, washing and care, food and beverage and other categories, as well as KFC, Whisper, Finch antelope, Guangming Dairy, Changan Automobile and other brands.
In addition, many brands have also hatched their own virtual images. For example, McDonald’s changed its classic image “Uncle McDonald’s” and launched the virtual image “Happy Sister” in 2021, while Colonel Sanders’ grandfather of KFC turned from a real person into a “virtual image” synthesized by CGI technology.
The virtual anchor also carries goods at the end.
The end of the live broadcast is to bring goods, and the same is true for virtual anchors.
In June 2020, Luo Tianyi walked into Tmall’s all-star studio and staged a dream linkage with the head live anchorman, becoming the first virtual singer to break the circle and bring goods. In the same month, the ancestor of virtual idol “early Voice Future” entered Taobao live broadcast, and once surpassed Zhu Yilong, Wang Yibo and other stars to become Tmall’s “June 18” star list.
In addition to working with well-known IP, some brands, e-commerce platforms and MCN institutions also use their own incubated virtual anchors to carry goods. For example, in the live broadcast window on the first page of NetEase’s strict selection, virtual people broadcast live before 10:00 in the morning and after 12:00 in the evening.
The virtual digital human “Lin 211” developed by NetEase Fuxi. Screenshot taken from NetEase’s strict selection of the official Weibo.
“Virtual VJ can be used to fill the gap in which live VJs are unable to appear on camera. Through tests, we found that in the same period of time, the running water of virtual human live broadcasting can reach 30% of that of real people, but its cost is minimal.” NetEase Fuxi product manager cabinet language said to this.
The virtual anchor also “collapsed the house”.
For brands, the choice of real-life star endorsements often means that the two images share weal and woe in cooperation, and after the star “collapses the house”, the brand often faces huge losses in “cutting seats”. In contrast, the virtual human image with a fixed human setting seems to be more stable and can solve the problem of “collapsed house” once and for all.
However, this is not the case.
MOFU-F, the club to which bilibili’s virtual anchor “Bailin Porin” belongs, issued a statement refuting the rumor, saying that the video released by Bailin Porin “about the fact that I was abducted and sold after I disappeared for half a year” was “verified by the police that the content is not true.” Subsequently, bilibili announced a permanent ban on the “Bailin Porin” account.
Virtual anchor “Bailin Porin” has been permanently banned for posting fake videos. Screenshot from bilibili.
In the same month, A-Soul, a virtual women’s group regarded as the “ceiling of virtual idols in China”, was mired in a labor storm because the people in Galle announced that they had entered a “live dormancy”.
Earlier, the virtual image “Qiqi _ Ranoca” of Station B was accused of plagiarizing the facial image of another virtual anchor, “Greta Gretia”. In this regard, bilibili e-sports officially punished the person in charge of the VUP artists Brokerage Department and other related personnel accordingly.
This series of virtual anchor “house collapse” incident reveals to us a neglected fact: even if the image of the virtual anchor is more exquisite and the person is more plump, the operator behind it is a living person. In front of the blue ocean opened up by virtual anchors, there are still gaps in image review and industry supervision that need to be filled.
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