Gillette showcases stadium reno, razor with mixed reality segment during ‘MNF’

During the Chicago Bears-New England Patriots game Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, a mixed reality ad for Gillette was shown to television viewers, a sequence that included adding virtual structural elements and a giant razor to the virtual space.

The segment was designed to showcase Gillette’s men’s razor with an exfoliating feature that’s part of the GilletteLabs brand.

It depicts the Patriot’s mascot, Pat Patriot, entering a room, presumably somewhere inside the stadium, and flipping a giant switch that “activates” the mixed reality part of the ad.

At this point, the view switched to the field before the camera panned up as bright green wireframe-style animation was used to “build” a large tower and virtual video board spanning much of the width of the north side of the stadium.

In an interesting twist, this mixed reality element is actually a preview of what’s to come in real life — the Patriots are working on a $225 million renovation of the stadium that will add a 22,000-square foot video board and 220-foot tall lighthouse, a nod to an existing, smaller feature near the stadium’s entrance.

What’s not real, however, is that lighthouse’s ability to shoot a green beam of light onto the field, forming a large circular dais that rotates like a coin being flipped to reveal the magnetic base of the razor product.

Following this, virtual pieces of a giant razor fly in from the north side of the field, with some joining and others growing to form a full 3D model of the razor. The sequence also puts special emphasis on the “exfoliating bar,” a segment located below the blades thanks to its bright green color and some glowing effects.

The segment did not include any voiceover or narration, relying instead on background music and the on-screen virtual action to showcase the product, which has the advantage of being fairly self-explanatory.

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The sequence was designed as an “in-game” ad designed to attempt to bring more attention to an advertiser’s message by making it feel more like part of the game.

This mixed reality segment was created in partnership with the NFL, Gillette (a division of Proctor and Gamble), The Famous Group virtual production company and The Kraft Group, a sports marketing and merchandising firm owned by Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft. 

Gillette has had naming rights to the stadium since 2002, with a recently-signed deal extending that through 2031. 

It will rename the stadium under the GilletteLabs Stadium name once it opens for the 2023 season.

Back in 2016, Amazon had NBC add a giant virtual Amazon Echo to the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza during election coverage and other brands and outlets have experimented with similar segments in the years since.