Meta has hired Jim Shepherd, Snap's former director of global content partnerships, to lead efforts in getting celebrities and high-profile users to wear and promote Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses. Shepherd previously oversaw Snap's celebrity relations and editorial strategy, building relationships with musicians, sports stars, and influencers. The hire, reported by The Hollywood Reporter, is part of Meta's push to increase consumer interest in its AI devices by having influential figures post content filmed through the glasses.
meta just hired the guy who ran snap's celeb partnerships to get famous people to wear its AI glasses. jim shepherd spent years at snap cozying up to musicians and athletes. now he's tasked with making meta ray-bans a thing by getting influencers to actually film with them.
This hire signals Meta's strategic pivot to rely on celebrity endorsement to drive adoption of its AI hardware, rather than just technical specs. It mirrors Snap's earlier playbook of using high-profile users to make a product feel culturally relevant. If successful, it could normalize wearing AI glasses in public and accelerate the shift toward augmented reality in everyday life.
meta is betting that cool people wearing ray-bans will make everyone else want them too. it's the same play snap used. if shepherd can pull it off, ai glasses might actually become a thing people wear outside. if not, it's just another expensive hardware push.
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