The idea was simple: build a VR experience that puts teen athletes in the cleats of MLB MVP, Bryce Harper, in the bottom of the 9th. From the moment Bryce stepped into the batter’s box, they are Bryce. They experience first-hand what he sees, hears and thinks….

At bat, a fastball wizzes by their head...

Now their knees are buckling….

Then Bryce’s batting experience kicks in…

He is relaxed and focused. Each pitch comes at him in slow motion

Finally, it’s the one he’s been waiting for. His body heats up in anticipation…

Ready to crush a homerun

We debuted the experience with a youth baseball team documenting their reactions as each player tried to replicate Bryce’s swing. With the experience over, there was one more surprise, Bryce himself. The reactions were priceless.

We shot at Bryce’s home field using a custom 14-camera rig placed in the batter’s box at Bryce’s eye level to capture a 1st person perspective. Computer generated imaging portrayed his body and bat making you feel in control. Sound was captured via binaural audio that accurately captured game sounds and placed them in the right context for the viewer. These elements combined were a first of its kind and delivered an experience that let teen athletes feel what it was like to be Bryce.

The surprise was curated into an original piece of content and syndicated on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. For teen athletes to view Being Bryce Harper: A VR Experience, it was released on the newly launched YouTube 360 and the MilkVR app on Samsung’s GearVR, and without any paid media support it became a featured video with both partners.

In less than two day of the contents release, over 150 leading publications had picked up the story reaching over 168MM people. Publications ranging from the Washington Post to Wired, as well as endemic sports outlets like Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Bleacher Report cited Gatorade innovation as ground breaking and inspiring VR content.

More importantly, the campaigns effectiveness with teen athletes set a new benchmark for powerful storytelling at Gatorade. The program drove double digit increases in the equity measure: “Gatorade is an innovative and futuristic company.” The content also generated positive sentiment in qualitative tests; quoting Gatorade Teen Athletes:

• “it’s so cool because you’re in his head”

• “It’s so real it’s unreal!”

• “It’s like you're actually the pro athlete”