by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 5:35 PM ET, Mon October 19, 2026
Virgin Voyages has launched “Mermaid Origins,” a four-part short film series exploring the fictional backstories of the four mermaids featured on its cruise ships.
The new brand campaign was created with Native Foreign, an Emmy-recognized creative studio, and Magnific, an artificial intelligence-powered creative platform. Each film explores the mythology of one of the mermaids associated with the cruise line’s Lady Ships: Scarlet, Valiant, Resilient and Brilliant.
The campaign expands on the characters, which Virgin Voyages introduced as symbolic representations of passion, courage, resilience and wisdom. Artists from around the world developed distinct visual styles and narratives for the four mermaids, using Magnific’s AI tools to help bring their visions to life.
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the project debuted last week at Native Foreign’s inaugural L.A. Made event in Culver City, California. The event also featured panels on AI and creativity with industry representatives from Native Foreign, Magnific and Virgin Voyages.
“Every brand says it has iconic characters, but we actually built ours a mythology,” says Billy Bohan Chinique, vice president of marketing and innovation at Virgin Voyages. “‘Mermaid Origins’ is Virgin Voyages doing what we do best: taking something playful and pushing it further than anyone expects, with artists from around the world who brought their own vision to Scarlet, Valiant, Resilient and Brilliant.”
Native Foreign used Magnific to develop individual personas, folklore and interconnected fictional worlds for the characters. The companies said the technology helped accelerate the creative process while allowing each artist to guide the direction of their work.
“AI can amplify an idea, but it can’t replace the person behind it,” says Nik Kleverov, co-founder and chief creative officer of Native Foreign. “Storytelling will always need creatives and artists to lead the narrative.”
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