On October 24, the Procter & Gamble-owned razor and personal care products company Gillette revealed innovative GilletteLabs during ESPN's Monday Night Football.
The Famous Group designed the mixed-reality experience that saw Gillette Stadium become GilletteLabs Stadium right in front of the onlookers.
Truly a sight to behold, the mixed-reality GilletteLabs Stadium was part of the broadcast between the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears.
During the game, neon green lights sprung up from the ground and constructed Gillette’s new GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar product. The lights then proceeded to upgrade the stadium, revealing the brand’s plans for its future.
In-person brand activations such as this one, especially when merged with virtual aspects, are the future of marketing.
It’s impossible to picture just how impressive the experience was without viewing it yourself, so here’s Gillette’s Monday Night Football Mixed Reality Stadium Transformation video from the event:
As Pat the Patriot flips a comically oversized switch, the process of building the new futuristic razor begins.
The entire experience is spectacular, a true example of cutting-edge, out-of-box marketing.
Consumers returned to real-world venues with greater openness to hybrid experiences than ever, and they were not disappointed.
It was also quite an accurate brand campaign for a premium product that’s as technologically advanced as the new Gillette with exfoliating bars, that are also heated.
“[The mixed reality commercial] is a way for us to showcase how GilletteLabs is truly at the forefront of innovation and technology for men’s grooming, not only with our products, but also with our marketing efforts,” said John Claughton, vice president of grooming at Gillette North America, in a press statement.
Gillette is not the first brand to run mixed-reality ads, although it might be the most impressive example to date.
This spring, the Colorado Avalanche NHL team and Chipotle ran a mixed-reality ad campaign on the Jumbotron. The spot showed a Chipotle-branded Zamboni bringing out a huge burrito bowl onto the ice.
The brand’s latest move comes at a time when the competition in the grooming industry for men is getting edgier than ever.
Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s are gaining traction faster than ever before, but Gillette’s latest performance is certainly going to slash the competition clean.
For the sake of seeing some truly groundbreaking, futuristic marketing, we can only hope that more brands will follow in Gillette’s footsteps.
