Absolut is offering music fans an “epic night out”, virtually. Absolut Labs, the brand’s experimental and creative venture, has teamed up with electronic muso, Deadmau5; digital production agency, Forever Beta, and Unit9 (that has already done VR work for Lexus, Samsung and Stella Artois) to produce a VR game.
The game starts off with Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) inside his (actual) garage studio, then you become the artist trying to get to a secret show navigating past skeptical bouncers and selfie-taking fans. There’s even a guest appearance from Deadmau5’s Instagram-famous cat, Meowingtons. If you can make it into the club, it becomes a VR concert film – and you are in the booth with Deadmau5.
Absolut is so confident about the game’s appeal, it is selling the game’s limited edition headset US$18. Fans can already pre-order the cardboard headset designed in collaboration with the artist to be the first to experience the app (on all major platforms, including iOS and Android) and hear the new Deadmau5 track on July 27.
Deadmau5 will perform a live set in NYC on the same day.
“I think that brands have to realise that their content has to be as good as the next Star Wars trailer or the next Drake video, in order to hold people’s attention,” stated Afdhel Aziz, director, Absolut Labs.
In order to make that a viable undertaking in the future, the company decided to test the waters on monetising a VR app, without destroying the potential success of this one. The content itself is free.
Aziz commented, “Absolut Labs was created so we could experiment with new forms of content and technology: VR, AR, Internet of Things, wearable tech. I think these are all channels that brands are going to have to learn to be fluent in faster than everyone thinks.”
Deadmau5 has created music for Playstation games, appeared in DJ Hero, and Diablo 3 features his electro-mouse head as a secret item.
“It’s no secret I’m a huge gamer. Video games have always played a major role in my life. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create my own VR gaming experience, especially when it meant I could bring a broad set of fans on an interactive journey alongside me, and share my music with them in a whole new way,” he stated.
