Ogilvy has said it is set to launch a new service to help deal with influencers causing damage to brands’ reputation.

The move will see the agency introduce an “Influence Shield”, with Ogilvy head of crisis and risk management Toby Conlon telling the Financial Times newspaper that the move represents a “new frontier for brand reputation”.

Ogilvy will not only investigate influencer’s online history to verify there is no damaging material, but will also seek to protect influencers themselves from being cancelled.

The agency was one of the first to launch a ground breaking AI Watermark policy calling for AI influencer videos to be marked with lines like #poweredbyAI and #paidpartnership, as Ogilvy global head of influence Rahul Titus said that when correctly managed AI “watchful influencers” can add a level of trust by their association with celebrity.

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A tool like this is helping brands navigate and plan better against an increasingly complex audio ad space, and is just one example.

The WPP-owned agency has been pushing for a crackdown which would allow AI-generated content to be properly identified.

Scarlett Johansson clashed with OpenAI after the company mimicked her voice for its Chat GPT system Sky.

The new proposition would prevent or mitigate occurrences like Adidas having to drop Bella Hadid from its new campaign which referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The brand received backlash after some highlighted that 11 Israeli athletes we killed by Palestinian attackers at the event, and criticised the link between Hadid who is half-Palestinian and a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and people.

Adidas has said that the link was unintentional.