The Campaign

Creative Insight: Because same-sex marriage was not yet legal in Australia, the public had no way to experience what they were actually voting for. Creative Approach: Using 360 cameras, we documented a real same-sex wedding happening in Auckland, New Zealand, before inviting influencers, politicians, media and the public to a ‘virtual wedding’ activation in Sydney, during the heart of the marriage equality vote. The Virtual Equality VR activation gave Australians the chance to experience the impossible, by attending attending a same-sex marriage on home soil. Rainbow-branded Google Cardboard headsets were also sent to media and all 150 sitting politicians, letting them experience the virtual wedding through an interactive 360 film hosted on our mobile site, virtualequality.org. For the first time, virtual reality was used as a social protest, delivering a powerful message that became a rallying cry of the “yes” campaign: “Australia. It’s time to make marriage equality a reality.”

Creative Execution

First we documented a same-sex wedding happening in Auckland, New Zealand, using 360 VR cameras to capture every beautiful moment. The media, influencers, politicians and the public were then invited to the virtual wedding at Sydney's iconic First Fleet Park, Circular Quay, with hundreds of people lining up to experience a same-sex marriage on Australian soil. Unique rainbow-branded Google Cardboard headsets were also sent to media publishers and all 150 sitting politicians, letting thousands more experience the virtual wedding through an interactive 360 film hosted on our mobile site, virtualequality.org. The Virtual Equality activation then became an online film, combining emotional footage from the real wedding in Auckland and the virtual wedding in Sydney to deliver a simple but powerful message that was picked up by local and international media, gay rights groups and tech blogs around the world: “Australia. It’s time to make marriage equality a reality.”

Responses at the virtual wedding activation ranged from laughter to tears with many, including Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP, and Get Up! Campaign Manager, Sally Rugg, deeply affected by the fact that virtual reality was the only way a same-sex marriage could legally happen in Australia. The online film was widely shared by the public, gay-rights groups, publishers and tech blogs around the world, including Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Lost At E Minor and TheNextWeb.com, spreading our activation to millions worldwide. But more importantly, the activation also struck a chord at home, with our simple but powerful message becoming a catchcry of the YES campaign, widely used by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at press conferences and rallies across the country: “Australia. It’s time to make marriage equality a reality.” And though we played just one part, on 15 November 2017, Australia voted YES for marriage equality!

In 2017, same-sex marriage was not legal in Australia. Launching during Australia’s controversial marriage equality vote, the Virtual Equality VR activation and 360 film, gave Australians the chance to do the impossible, by experiencing a same-sex wedding on home soil, in spite of the law. For the first time, virtual reality was used as a social protest. By letting people experience the real-life outcome of the marriage equality survey before it happened, our message broke through the divisive claims and fearmongering from the NO camp and inspired the nation to become passionate supporters of the YES campaign

While millennials were already largely supporters of marriage equality, they were also the most complacent – contributing fewer donations, time and resources to charities than any other group. With the physical postal ballot itself creating yet another barrier to entry, we actively targeted the millennial audience using a powerful emotional hook combined with an interesting use of technology, piquing interest and inspiring action in the crucial final weeks of the survey. With the marriage equality bill still needing to pass through parliament, we also targeted politicians directly. Rainbow-branded Google Cardboard headsets were sent to all 150 sitting members of parliament letting them experience the virtual wedding and exposing them to our important message before they made their deciding vote in parliament.