Immersive VR Fronts Esso #FuelYourSenses McLaren Honda F1 British GP Activity

Fuel partner Esso leveraged its McLaren Honda F1 partnership at the British Grand Prix with a #FuelYourSenses campaign spearheaded by an immersive virtual reality experience that put fans into an F1 cockpit.

With the objective of enabling race lovers ‘feel the excitement that drives the McLaren F1 team’, the campaign is led by a VR film experience starring Jenson Button.

The ‘Fuel Your Senses’ film is a 360 virtual reality experience that enables veiwers to race on the legendary Silverstone track in the seat of Button’s F race car.

The work, which was shot on location at Silverstone National Park, features a race between a Honda Civic Sport, a McLaren 650S and a McLaren F1 Car.

The idea is to bring to life and fully demonstrate the power of the F1 car.

Button (and the viewer) are in the F1 cockpit, while Stoffel Vandoorne and Kevin Magnussen in the Civic Sport and 650S respectively.

The activation was initially teased through a YouTube trailer.

Then ‘Fuel Your Senses’ was premiered at London’s Race Week event (30 June) that saw guests sitting in a real F1 car while watching the film on a big screen.

In the digital space, the immersive experience was pushed through both Esso’s and McLaren Honda F1’s own social channels – including YouTube (with 108,522 views),

Twitter,

#FuelYourSenses – the #VR experience. http://t.co/xaK034EWho pic.twitter.com/UckAEwusqY

— Esso UK (@UK_Esso) July 8, 2015

and Instagram.

Listen to that V8 roar. View the full 360 experience here: http://youtu.be/n4pbSI3kOsg Visit Esso on YouTube app for mobile. #FuelYourSenses #F1 #jensonbutton

A video posted by McLaren-Honda (@mclaren) on Jul 7, 2015 at 10:09am PDT

For the full virtual reality experience it was best viewed on Android or iOS devices (iPhone 5 or newer) and/or through the accompanying Google Cardboard branded viewing device.

Listen to that V8 roar. View the full 360 experience here: http://youtu.be/n4pbSI3kOsg Visit Esso on YouTube app for mobile. #FuelYourSenses #F1 #jensonbutton

A video posted by McLaren-Honda (@mclaren) on Jul 7, 2015 at 10:09am PDT

Directed by Jonathan Pearson and developed in collaboration with UNIT9 Films and PR agency Weber Shandwick, the sound was by Wave’s Ed Downham, editing from Marshall St Editors’ Toby Conway-Hughes and colour by Rich Fearon of MPC.

‘F1 racing is about power, speed and precision. Unless you are a pilot there is no better way to experience it than in VR. I had to hold on to my seat,’ explains UNIT 9 chairman Piero Frescobaldi.

‘It was fantastic to be able to combine filmmaking and next gen technology. Exploring new visual mediums is what we do best at UNIT9’, adds director Jonathan Pearson.
A further Esso activation initiative at the British Grand Prix, saw Esso and McLaren Honda F1 team up with legendary racing commentator Murray Walker to bring fan tweets and Facebook posts to life through the most iconic voice in UK motor sport.

For one day, on 4 July, the campaign, called #MurrayYourTweet, enabled those following Esso on Twitter, or liking it on Facebook, to send in their 140 character requests for what they’d like Walker to say for them and the Esso/McLaren team ‘Murrayed The Tweet’ and posted it on YouTube.

Race fans sent in entries spanning everything from birthday greetings to good luck messages.

.@nichola_buckley – we’ve just Murrayed your tweet! https://t.co/27GBcXNDCd #MurrayYourTweet #FuelYourSenses

— Esso UK (@UK_Esso) July 4, 2015

.@do__sk happy birthday Kat, from Murray! https://t.co/TTmLyI3vcf #MurrayYourTweet #FuelYourSenses

— Esso UK (@UK_Esso) July 4, 2015

Thanks for all your tweets! We’ve had a blast with Murray. Enjoy the race tomorrow! #MurrayYourTweet #FuelYourSenses pic.twitter.com/HsXp3bYzR1

— Esso UK (@UK_Esso) July 4, 2015

Comment:

360 degree virtual reality has been one of the ‘go to’ tech platforms for sports sponsorship work in 2015 and this initiative keeps the bandwagon rolling.

Other recent innovative activation approaches to the technology range from Stella Artois at Wimbledon 2015 (see case study),

to William Hill’s 3D racing experience (see case study).

McLaren Honda might be having one of its worst seasons in living memory, but the team and its sponsors can usually be relied upon to produce some of the most innovative and sophisticated activation campaigns on the grid.

And this campaign continues its impressive track record.

Links

http://www.esso.co.uk/fuelyoursenses

https://twitter.com/UK_Esso

Esso YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/EssoUK

Esso Facebook:

http://facebook.com/EssoUK
Esso Twitter:

http://twitter.com/UK_Esso

McLaren Honda F1 Website:

http://www.mclaren.com/

McLaren Honda F1 Twitter:

https://twitter.com/mclarenf1