A system and method of providing sender customization of multi-media messages through the use of inserted images or video. The images or video may be sender-created or predefined and available to the sender via a web server. The method relates to customizing a multi-media message created by a sender for a recipient, the multi-media message having an animated entity audibly presenting speech converted from text created by the sender. The method comprises receiving at least one image from the sender, associating each at least one image with a tag, presenting the sender with options to insert the tag associated with one of the at least one image into the sender text, and after the sender inserts the tag associated with one of the at least one images into the sender text, delivering the multi-media message with the at least one image presented as background to the animated entity according to a position of the tag associated with the at least one image in the sender text. In another embodiment of the invention, a template is provided to the sender to create multi-media messages using predefined static images or video clips. The method comprises providing the sender with a group of customizable multi-media message templates, each template of the groups of templates including predefined parameters comprising a predefined text message, a predefined animated entity, a predefined background, predefined background music, and a predefined set of emoticons within the text of the message. The sender is further provided with options to accessorize the animated entity with various additional features such as glasses and the like for more creative presentation of the multi-media message.