SKF Recreates Greta Garbo With AI for Magnetic Bearing Campaign

SKF is using an AI recreation of Greta Garbo in a campaign for its magnetic bearings, the company said in a press release. The initiative revives Garbo's connection with SKF more than a century after she appeared in an early Swedish promotional film that featured the company.

The bearings use magnetic fields to suspend and guide a rotating shaft without physical contact, eliminating mechanical friction at the bearing. SKF says they are used in data centers, cooling systems, semiconductor manufacturing and other applications with high energy requirements.

SKF is also reintroducing a payment model first offered in 1919, allowing customers to finance equipment through energy savings generated over time. The bearings can be paired with condition monitoring that uses AI to provide operating data for equipment management. The campaign was created with Garbo's family and Harriet Brown & Company.