The Games Awards visitors and the internet were stunned by the unbelievable Asgard’s Wrath 2 hologram that appeared in the night sky just before the ceremony. How was it possible? Who's behind it? What kind of technology enables such a realistic projection? Here are all the answers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPrzn7f4uO0
What happened: if you attended the Games Awards show in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 7, 2023, you could have witnessed something out of our world. A gigantic, 30-metre-high hyperrealistic hologram appeared in the night sky to promote the launch of one of the most coveted Meta Quest releases of 2023.
Of course, we're talking about the Asgard’s Wrath 2 hologram. The activation has become a viral social media sensation and a major talking point on Reddit. People were mesmerized by the almost unreal execution that made some question the reality altogether.
The hologram featured a portal that appeared rapidly above the palm tree-dotted road. The characters of the game appear inside in a true Ghost Busters fashion. Finally, the ad ends with a huge Asgard’s Wrath 2 hovering above Los Angeles. Quite epic, isn't it?
But as Meta Quests didn't provide any details about the campaign and there was a certain flair of mystery hovering over the whole activation, the internet wondered who was behind the Asgard’s Wrath 2 hologram.
LinkedIn came to the rescue. It turned out that BBDO New York is behind the ad with its Creative Director Joe Fox writing on the social media platform that it was them that "brought chaos to the LA skies by gatecrashing #thegameawards. The gaming industry's most influential figures (and thousands of bewildered locals) saw Loki and other beasts of Asgard’s Wrath burst into our world, ready to cause chaos and destruction."
Also, Fox revealed that it was a collaboration between Kaleida, Method Studios, and Meta.
Okay, now we know who did the Asgard’s Wrath 2 hologram ad. But how exactly they did it?
AV Magazine provided details stating that the holographic creation was made possible by "using large-scale projection onto hologram gauze suspended from cranes in a car park."
Voila. Now you know the secret behind the activation and can finally sleep tight.
Asgard's Wrath 2 was developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Oculus Studios for the Meta Quest. December, 15 is its official release day.
By the way, the hologram wasn't the only impressive ad activation for Asgard's Wrath 2 promotion. Here's the campaign that used the LED capabilities of Las Vegas Sphere:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkVyyzPrWf4
Also, we recommend reading about other hologram marketing examples.