Johnnie Walker utilises VR to hammer home the perils of drunk driving
Johnnie Walker is leveraging the immersive qualities of virtual reality to strengthen the poignancy of its drunk driving message in a new awareness campaign.
The Decisions 360-degree VR video shows consumers what it's like to be in a fatal drunken-driving accident in the hope that it will help discourage people from driving while intoxicated, especially given its more likely to happen during the festive period.
The four-minute long story follows three different vehicles and their passengers. In one vehicle, three friends are heading to a party; in another, a woman is celebrating a breakthrough in her career; and in a third, a married couple are having their first date night since the birth of their new baby.
"With VR technology on the rise both in consumer interest and utilization, we believe this is the ideal method to directly and emotionally impact consumers,” said James Thompson, chief marketing and innovation officer at Diageo's North America division.
The emotional impact is something which VR significantly facilitates too, according to recent studies by Nielsen and YuMe which have shown VR brand experiences garner a 27% higher reaction in users than traditional 2D content, and a 17% higher reaction than flatly presented 360-degree video.
The decisions campaign was created by Diageo’s digital and culture and partnerships teams in collaboration with digital agency VaynerMedia.
Diageo has vowed to making a long-term commitment to VR tech with more user experiences planned for the future.