Klick Health and AI Bring 'Holiday Hugs' to Employees

With IRL reunions, too

Per the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.

With a little AI and a twist, Klick Health’s seasonal video—”Holiday Hugs”—supports the Foundation for Social Connection. For every view, the agency will donate $1 to the cause (up to $10,000).

When several employees revealed they would be unable to hug someone special in coming weeks, the agency decided to play Santa.

First, staffers watched their AI selves embrace loved ones. Next, those friends and relatives walked onto the production stage for emotional IRL reunions.

“We asked Klicksters to send us photos of themselves and someone they wish they could hug this holiday season but won’t be able to, along with information about the person, what they mean to them, and why they won’t be able to hug,” says CCO Rich Levy. “We loved surprising everyone with AI hugs and were happy to have surprised some of them with in-person hugs from their loved ones. We secretly communicated with Klicksters’ loved ones and flew in people from as far away as Brazil.”

The agency used the Gen-3 Alpha Turbo tool by Runway for the AI hugs.

“Seeing the joy and tears of our Klicksters reminds us that no technology can truly replace the magic of human connection, but it can help bring us closer in the most surprising ways,” Levy tells Muse.