In the early 90’s there was a lot of the hype about Virtual Reality, what it could do and what it could be used for. Even Hollywood got in on the act, anyone remember The Lawnmower Man? A virtual reality experiment alters a simple gardener and turns him into a megalomaniac who wants to rule cyberspace and take over the world. Needless-to-say it was rubbish.
Some of the thinking behind the VR at the time was along the right track, but the technology just wasn’t up to the task and it simply faded away in to the realms of enthusiasts and developers.
However in the past couple of years VR has made a come back with some major players invested in its development – even some megalomaniacs.
You can see the full list of top headsets here
At the moment VR’s strengths seems to lie in the entertainment business, particularly in gaming and experiential videos. Existing games like Call of Duty, Halo and even Minecraft have beta versions utilising the Oculus Rift.
One example of what’s being achieved in gaming is Alien Isolation, which The Oculus Rift utilises the gaming environment brilliantly. Here’s the YouTube game reviewer Storpey’s experience of it – his reactions are worth a look.
Alien Isolation with Oculus Rift
There are also dozens games that have being made just for VR such as the impressive Back to Dinosaur Island for the Oculus Rift and Samsung GearVR.
Back to Dinosaur Island on Oculus Rift DK2
This amazing immersive experience on the Oculus Rift brings Van Gogh paintings to life in 3D.
The Night Cafe – An Immersive VR Tribute to Vincent van Gogh
A lot of the work done on these devices is still at the development and experimental stage. There are some obstacles getting in the way of it reaching out to a larger audience, something that brands will want to see VR overcome if they are to utilise it.
The cost is one, at the top end of VR experience it’s been estimated that video content on a device such as the Oculus Rift can work out as expensive as a full production TV ad.
That didn’t stop brands such as Destination British Columbia spending over half million dollars on two VR video experiences or Mountain Dew associating itself with VR with their own immersive experience just because they loved the idea of it.
Agencies have also tried to overcome the problem of costs by producing the work in-house.
We are still a long away from immersive VR being one click away as there are the issues of limited of storage on mobile devices and the speed limit of the networks.
Despite this it has not stopped some brands from dipping their toe in the water trying VR technology and have tried various ways of getting around those obstacles with some really good executions.
Case Studies
Topshop – London Fashion Week
To celebrate London Fashion Week last year, Topshop hosted a competition that invited participants to win virtual front row seats at Fashion Week and experience what it would be like to be Anna Wintour. The winners viewed the show streamed live via the Oculus Rift while sitting in the window of the Oxford Street branch of Topshop.
The Topshop Virtual Reality Experience
Topshop Fashion Week Oculus Rift Teaser
Marriott – NY City Hall Get Teleported
To promote the exotic locations of their Hotels using #getteleported The Marriot created a VR Holiday Teleporter using Oculus Rift. In one event they targeted newlyweds outside New York City Hall and offered them a virtual honeymoon experience at a Marriot resort. The experience was recorded and then newlyweds could share their VR holiday experience via social media.
A Virtual Honeymoon to London and Hawaii
Marriott Hotels’ Virtual Travel Experience (Behind the Scenes)
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew wanted to take a leaf out of Red Bulls book and ramp up their use of technology to appeal to their millennial audience.
At key extreme sports events such as snowboarding, skateboarding and driving they offered users the complete 360 VR experience of the sport in Mountain Dew branded booths using the Oculus Rift.
Destination BC -The Wild Within
Provisional Tourism of British Columbia wanted to create a unique experience for visitors to their tourist offices and visitor centers around the US and Canada. By using a VR headset users can experience 360 atmospheric and immersive videos of the landscape and wildlife of British Columbia that would appeal to tourists. The experience was also available on their website for users who had their own compatible VR headset.
The Wild Within 360 Wildlife Video
The Wild Within 360 Hiking Video
Volvo XC90 Virtual Test
This is one of my favourites as it is a nice combination of DM and technology using the simplest of the current VR devices available.
When Volvo wanted to promote its XC90 SUV at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, a direct mail piece was sent out to potential customers featuring a branded folder containing the details about the car, along with a branded flat-packed Google Cardboard VR headset.
The customers were instructed on how download the specially built app and how to assemble the cardboard headset on to their mobile phone.
By holding up a phone to the device customers were able to take a virtual test drive and check out the car’s interior.
Art Director Nerd 