Nike took the old idiom “walk a mile in the other person’s shoes” to a completely literal level for the their latest advertisement for the new Hypervenom Phantom II soccer cleats. Preferably using Google Cardboard, but also just your smartphone, Nike has created a virtual reality advertisement starring Brazilian forward Neymar Jr. Merely open up the video below on the YouTube app in your phone.
The commercial is shot from the point of view of an animated Neymar Jr., as he dribbles past defenders, beats the goalkeeper, and eventually puts the ball into the back of an empty net. Then at the end, Nike presents the viewer with a challenge: to see the samba flick, the coach, the naked guy, the blimp and the jumbotron within the video.
While the accelerometer in the iPhone has been used since 2008 for certain games and experiences, not many advertisers have created ads that work with the accelerometer.
The reason being that in the past, it was much more costly to produce virtual reality ads, and virtual reality headsets were not readily available to a large audience.
With the invention of the $20 or less Google Cardboard last year, virtual reality is more accessible than ever these days. Also, the growing market for 360-degree cameras should make videos like these more common, and as a result Google Cardboard will be even more a part of daily life.