Nissan wanted to leverage their current ‘Built for Thrill’ campaign and TV commercial for the Nissan Juke, which features sky-divers assembling the car whilst free-falling through the air.
QUICK FACTS:
- Who: TRO for Nissan
- What: Virtual reality ‘wingsuit’ experience
- Where: Goodwood Festival of Speed
- When: 2012
- Tech: Custom VR HMD, motion base
The Brief
Nissan’s experiential agency TRO approached Inition to help them create an exciting experience for the centrepiece on Nissan’s stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Our Solution
Inition came up with the idea of the ‘Built to Thrill Wingsuit VR Experience’ to immerse participants in a multi-sensory 3D world inspired by close-proximity wingsuit flying.
We built a state-of-the-art wide-angle 3D head-mounted display which was housed in a bespoke case also designed and 3D printed in-house. To make the experience all the more exciting, we also built a multi-axis motion platform and carbon-fibre control surface
The experience begins with a jump out an aeroplane at 21,000 feet. Participants are given a mission to collect as many Nissan Juke components as possible on the way down through a mountain and urban landscape. Participants steer themselves by applying pressure to to left and right ‘wing’ sections, powerful computer-controlled fans mimic the rush of air as they fly through the air and finally try to land on the Nissan Juke, collecting ‘Thrill Points’ en route.
Scenes from the experience
The Results
Muriel Holdsworth at TRO reported that, “The Nissan Juke Built to Thrill simulator was the star of the show and acted as a real stand attractor. We only had a few weeks pre-production before the experience went live but the ride was ready in time and loved by TRO, Nissan and the Goodwood audience alike. The creativity and graphics of the software was particularly impressive.”
The opportunity to take part in a fully-immersive human flight experience attracted a constant stream of willing participants on Nissan’s stand and was also enjoyed by hundreds of onlookers. The game attracted 368 participants across the four days it was at the festival, with as many as 103 participants on the busiest day. Nissan took taking the Built to Thrill Wingsuit Experience to the Frankfurt and Paris motorshows and it also featured at the ATP Tennis Tournament at The O2.
In an interview with Event Magazine, Nissan’s Brand Experience Manager, Caroline Earley, described the game as “the headline feature on our stand this year.”