THE AUDI SANDBOX VR EXPERIENCE

Short List
TitleTHE AUDI SANDBOX VR EXPERIENCE
BrandAUDI
Product/ServiceAUDI Q5 QUATTRO
Category A03. Video / Moving Image
Entrant POL Oslo, NORWAY
Idea Creation POL Oslo, NORWAY
Media Placement MEDIACOM Oslo, NORWAY
Production MEDIAMONKS Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Thorbjorn Ruud POL Art Director
Petter Bryde POL Copywriter
Kjetil Botten Skogly POL Account Director
Emma Karlsson POL Account Manager
Ole Jakob Bøe Skattum POL Graphic Designer
Anna Adamson MediaMonks Stockholm Executive Producer Film
Sander van Wijk MediaMonks Stockholm Colorist
Tom Eriksen MediaMonks Stockholm Creative Director
Thomas Söderlund MediaMonks Stockholm Technical Director
Bo Gustafsson MediaMonks Stockholm Associate Producer
Fredrik Broander MediaMonks Stockholm VR Creative
Johan Anstérus MediaMonks Stockholm Producer
Jeroen Akershoek MediaMonks Stockholm Unity developer
Tom Rijpert MediaMonks Stockholm Director
Niklas Jakobsson MediaMonks Stockholm Line producer
Jo Eken Torp MediaMonks Stockholm Director Of Photography
Jordy van der Bergh MediaMonks Stockholm Editor
Eric Thorell MediaMonks Stockholm Sound Designer
Edward Björner MediaMonks Stockholm Sound Designer
Arvid Björn MediaMonks Stockholm Visual Effects Supervisior
Johan Boije MediaMonks Stockholm Visual Effects Supervisior

The Campaign

We created an in-store installation that lets people test-drive the new Audi Q5 in VR on a self-made track made out of sand. We invited people to enter a purpose-built sandbox to create their own driving environment by moving sand to form lanes, jumps and mud pools. The physical sandbox is turned into a virtual playground using a depth-sensing camera that renders peoples’ creation into a 3D environment. People could then step an Audi Q5 driving simulator with an Oculus Rift headset to drive around their own sandbox in a real-time VR experience. The driving experience is designed to simulate a real-life drive, complete with feedback from the Audi Q5 steering wheel and the actual car (engine) sounds. The key drivers for the campaign are a one-minute TVC and two-minute making-of video in which the concept and technology are introduced to drive people to Audi dealers and share the experience.

Creative Execution

Enter Sandbox was designed as a traveling in-store installation with a transportable 400-kilo sandbox from which participants can create their own test-drive environment. The physical sandbox is scanned in 3D based on 200,000 measure points, using a Kinect camera and a HTC Vive Lighthouse tracking system. To capture the sandbox at such detail, the sandbox is bombarded with bursts of infrared light that are captured by the Kinect camera to measure the height differences relative to the camera. This height-depth-scan is then rendered into a 3D model of the sandbox, which users can explore in VR in an Audi Q5. To include the tools and toys participants could move around the sandbox, we created 3D replicas that would replace the real-life toys inside the VR experience. Finally, when participants uncovered the floor of the sandbox, this empty space was replaced by a pool of water in the VR experience. To show that Audi’s technological edge is not just in their cars but in the brand’s DNA, Audi wanted its new campaign to reflect their commitment to technology. For the introduction of the Audi Q5, we wanted to give the dealers something truly cool and innovative that would spark people’s excitement for Audi in a way that would reach far beyond the dealership through social and PR.