LIFELIVE

Short List
TitleLIFELIVE
BrandSAMSUNG
Product / ServiceGEAR VR
CategoryA02. Creative Innovation (incl. business solutions in association with a brand or creative campaign)
EntrantLEO BURNETT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Entrant Company LEO BURNETT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Advertising Agency LEO BURNETT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Media Agency STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production Company RAPID VR Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Andy Dilallo Leo Burnett Sydney Chief Creative Officer
Mark Tutssel Leo Burnett Chicago Global Chief Creative Officer
Vince Lagana Leo Burnett Sydney Art Director
Grant Mcaloon Leo Burnett Sydney Copywriter
Jeremy Devilliers Leo Burnett Sydney Executive Print Producer
Bruno Nakano Leo Burnett Sydney Art Director
Jason Young Leo Burnett Sydney Typographer
Amanda Quested Leo Burnett Sydney Client Service Director
Laura Dowling/Grace Kluver Leo Burnett Sydney Account Management
Christopher Baron Leo Burnett Sydney Director/Editor
Matthew Gain Edelman PR Chief Operating Officer
Carla Webb Edelman PR Associate Director
Susannah DiLallo Rapid VR Executive Producer
Dave Klaiber Rapid VR Director - Perth
Taylor Steele Rapid VR VR Video Director
Kodaline Band Band
Andrew Stevenson We Love Jam Sound Design
Earle Dresner Rapid VR DOP
Ben Nott Rapid VR DOP
Toni Higginbotham Toni Higginbotham Casting Casting Director

The Brief

LifeLIVE was an online film that documented the virtual birth. To make it happen we spent months refining the live feed to the VR headset and the phone contained within. We achieved this by customising and 360 degree camera and leveraging existing tech to make the VR stitching seamless. The resulting film was released on Youtube and Facebook and spread via social media and a global PR strategy targeting online and offline mainstream consumer, technology and trade outlets along with paid media. LifeLIVE was created to prove that VR technology can have a human purpose. While it’s applications in things like gaming and entertainment are exciting, we wanted to get people thinking about the way it might one day play a pivotal role in their lives. So VR won’t just be about enjoying and immersing yourself in fictional worlds, it will change the way you relate to the real world and all the people you know and love within it. It doesn’t get much more important than that. Samsung removed the tyranny of distance, creating a new class of memories that have never previously existed – memories that only our technology can make possible.

We wanted to show VR isn’t just tech for tech’s sake, but something that can deliver a real human benefit. It’s obvious that it can and will revolutionise experiences like gaming. Right now it’s also being experimented with in areas as diverse as tourism, real estate and the military. Those are practical applications. We wanted to humanize the tech to explore its emotional benefits. VR is still so new that we’re all still taking first steps, but when something comes along that connects people in truly meaningful ways, you can be guaranteed that they’ll continue experimenting with it. Humans crave contact and closeness and that drive will be a huge determining factor in the way VR evolves. If it continues to deliver meaningful connections more easily it will, without doubt, become part of our lives on a mass scale. Samsung removed the tyranny of distance, creating a new class of memories that have never previously existed, memories that only our technology can make possible. Over 15 million views globally. Over $10 million earned media. Social platform engagement: 4.9 million Social media impressions: 17.6 million. 65% organic views.

We needed to launch Samsung’s new Gear VR in a way that every day people could relate to. In doing so we would create interest in the product beyond the usual niche audience of early adopters. Our strategy to achieve this goal was to humanise the technology with a story that resonated with millions. Namely, the bringing together of a couple separated by over 4,000kms so they could share the birth of their child, together. It would be the world’s first live virtual reality birth. This wasn’t the first project we’d done involving Samsung Gear VR so we knew quite a bit about what we could do immediately and what would need development. And, yes, the live component was the most complex challenge. Getting it right was a process of experimentation that spanned several months. We leveraged some existing technology and with Rapid VR customised it to enable better real time stitching and live streaming to the device. To enable the seamless transition of data, 4G wifi uplinks were needed throughout the entire birth. This required us to install a satellite dish on the roof of the hospital. In order to optimise our 360 stich a custom camera rig was developed, considerable testing went into finding the best camera angles, position and lens to ensure that we delivered a seamless visual to the user. To further enhance the father’s experience we also matched the camera position and height in the birthing room to replicate his seating position on the other side of the country.