OCULUS

Quest Launch

OCULUS

Quest Launch

Launching the headset that changed the course of virtual reality forever.

In 2019, Oculus released the device that would change the landscape of virtual reality forever: the all-in-one Quest. We developed the platform that would introduce it to the world. Helmed by Chris Trumbull and Luke Martin, the campaign asked the question – who wouldn’t want this version of virtual reality? Reality, obviously. And this cosmic party-pooper must be defied.

Reality: The Character

Many people had a hand in creating the Reality character, from AKQA to Oculus to the physical embodiment of Reality himself, Eric Wareheim. He provided a constant foil for all the gravity-defying, saber-wielding, fun inside Oculus Quest.

Posters & Billboards

At launch, Luke Acret and I focused on hero photography and OOH, highlighting a piece of content for each execution. To unify the campaign, we conceptualized a consistent environment across all pieces, a transitional space resting somewhere between the virtual and real worlds. We then adapted the smoke and lighting for each scene to fit the intention of the game title and player action.

Each piece of creative began with storyboards to lock in the framing and poses, which then informed photographer Marcus Eriksson, allowing him to quickly capture all the variations needed. We knew the hero photography could be flexible in its use, so we planned for static OOH to be adapted for digital OOH, social feeds, and websites, as well. We worked with Eben Mears and his team at Psyop to create subtle parallax motion individualized to each execution.

Reality: The Metaphor

The OOH was just one piece of a larger campaign. In developing the OOH, I created a headline construct to pay off the DEFY REALITY tagline and lay the tracks for the eventual human embodiment of Reality, played by Eric Wareheim. While the dozens of lines, thankfully, didn’t make the cut for billboards, they became the basis for the anthem film, launch TV spots, and social posts. The launch films were created by Lonnie Lind-Elliot and Andreas Ekelund, the social deliverables by Sarah Litwin-Schmid and Nicole Birch, all of whom made it their own. But for reference, here are a few of the lines I created for specific game titles:

Showing up in social

The decision was made not to create a bespoke set of social channels for the Reality character. But, we still wanted to provide more context for the character. Here are a few ways we activated against that: A 3-episode BTS series in a very Eric Wareheim style of humor, a manifesto story pinned as a highlight to Oculus IG, every so often Reality would just crash gameplay moments featured in Oculus IG stories, and a full toolkit of GIFs and Stickers for Oculus GIPHY and Instagram accounts for fans and community managers to utilize.