Australian insurance firm Budget Direct worked with 303 MullenLowe in Sydney to create a virtual ad-within-an-ad for which gives audiences the chance to ride with Captain Risky as he performs a spectacular double helix jump stunt. This case study looks at how the VR venture got viewers sharing in droves.
Case study summary
• Insurance firm enhances TV and video campaign with VR experience
• Technology uses YouTube 360 videos and Google Cardboard VR
• Engaging funny ad earns 500 Facebbok shares in 1 day alone and half a million YouTube views
The challenge
This VR campaign followed a recent launch of Budget Direct’s ‘Jumping The Double Helix Divide’ TVC, which reworked so viewers can experience what it’s like to be a passenger in Captain Risky’s car as he performs one of his infamous stunts.
The latest instalment is best viewed using a Google Cardboard device, or via a 360-degree version that’s accessible online from any browser. For iPhone users, open the link inside the YouTube app.
The solution
The VR campaign kicked off with a promotion to find a hidden entry code buried within the visuals, while inviting the audience to literally ride along with the brand.
As part of the campaign, Budget Direct is giving away 1000 Google Cardboard 2.0 Virtual Reality Viewers, with entry details here.
303 MullenLowe, visual effects house Altfx and Goodoil Films worked with Budget Direct to bring the idea to life.
The results
So far the 360 YouTube VR ad has been viewed more than half a million times.
”At Budget Direct we continue to try and shake things up in our sector by bringing together Service, Value and Innovation in all that we do, hence our slogan ‘Simply Smarter Insurance’. So with that said Budget Direct is the first company in the world to make a TV advert that the public can then take part in, via a mobile phone and a Virtual Reality viewer,” says Jonathan Kerr, Director Marketing & Digital, Budget Direct.
Kerr says it wasn’t cheap but worth the response: “We’ve had so many amazing Facebook comments [over 500] and shares in the last 12 hours.”