Come up with a memorable activation to tell about the dystopian world described in the first season of the series Westworld, inspired by Michael Crichton’s masterpiece that was launched simultaneously in the U.S.A. and Italy on Sky Atlantic.
Create a theme park, with a western-style mood, that is only inhabited by humanoid robots with artificial, yet indisputable morals, while human beings slowly lose their humanity and revert to their lowest instincts. During the teaser phase of the campaign, we simulated the opening of Westworld Experience, a luxury travel agency that offered limitless experiences to participants. There was a dedicated website, an emotional TV spot and several interviews with the company’s CEO and R&D to make the news look credible and accompany users during the month leading up to the reveal. One week prior to the launch of the series, we organized an event with a hidden prank advertising in a western-style saloon, with actors and VR headsets. The video showing the fragility of the dichotomy between real vs. virtual – one of the central themes of the series – immediately went viral and was used by Sky as a TV spot on the Sports and Cinema channels. The campaign concluded with a series of activities organized in a pop-up store in Corso Buenos Aires, in Milan: a set for photo ops, interesting speeches about robotics and a giveaway of a Westworld-branded Smartbox of sorts, all built up suspense around the upcoming TV premiere.