Beat Saber Showdown

Client
Meta

Role
Creative Director

Type
Brand Strategy

As part of their partnership with the NBA, Meta was given a prime spot at their All Star Weekend fan festival, and access to Dame Lillard, one of the best basketball players of his generation. They reached out to us to help them maximize the opportunity while highlighting the Meta Quest mixed reality headset.

How Do You Explain Mixed Reality to Someone Who Doesn’t Own a Headset?

After spending a bunch of time in mixed reality, I realized the key to getting people to understand it’s magic wasn’t getting them to see it, it was getting them to feel it. We needed to find a way to communicate the feeling of being in two places at once: of being courtside at the Moda Center without ever having to leave your couch.

You Don’t Bring Sand to the Beach

Knowing that most of the NBA’s brand partners were going to build some sort of basketball-adjacent activation for All Star Weekend, we opted to create something that would stand out against a sea of branded basketballs. Enter the first annual Beat Saber Showdown, a two-day gaming tournament that was equal parts Creed, Bloodsport, and Monday Night Raw. We incorporated combat sports elements throughout — the tuxedoed emcee, the championship belts, the mystery entrants — to create an experience you didn’t need a headset to feel: the visceral, electric sensation of being in two places at once.

Quantum Theory

Our key insight — that compelling Meta Quest content showed audiences what it feels like to be int two places at once — proved to have real staying power. In the months following All Star Weekend, Meta asked us to create even more content that worked as variations on that theme, resulting in some of the strangest (and most fun to produce) videos I've ever made.

Gallery

Let’s work together ↯

Back to projects

Beat Saber Showdown

Client
Meta

Role
Creative Director

Type
Brand Strategy

As part of their partnership with the NBA, Meta was given a prime spot at their All Star Weekend fan festival, and access to Dame Lillard, one of the best basketball players of his generation. They reached out to us to help them maximize the opportunity while highlighting the Meta Quest mixed reality headset.

How Do You Explain Mixed Reality to Someone Who Doesn’t Own a Headset?

After spending a bunch of time in mixed reality, I realized the key to getting people to understand it’s magic wasn’t getting them to see it, it was getting them to feel it. We needed to find a way to communicate the feeling of being in two places at once: of being courtside at the Moda Center without ever having to leave your couch.

You Don’t Bring Sand to the Beach

Knowing that most of the NBA’s brand partners were going to build some sort of basketball-adjacent activation for All Star Weekend, we opted to create something that would stand out against a sea of branded basketballs. Enter the first annual Beat Saber Showdown, a two-day gaming tournament that was equal parts Creed, Bloodsport, and Monday Night Raw. We incorporated combat sports elements throughout — the tuxedoed emcee, the championship belts, the mystery entrants — to create an experience you didn’t need a headset to feel: the visceral, electric sensation of being in two places at once.

Quantum Theory

Our key insight — that compelling Meta Quest content showed audiences what it feels like to be int two places at once — proved to have real staying power. In the months following All Star Weekend, Meta asked us to create even more content that worked as variations on that theme, resulting in some of the strangest (and most fun to produce) videos I've ever made.

Gallery

Let’s work together ↯

Back to projects

Beat Saber Showdown

Client
Meta

Role
Creative Director

Type
Brand Strategy

As part of their partnership with the NBA, Meta was given a prime spot at their All Star Weekend fan festival, and access to Dame Lillard, one of the best basketball players of his generation. They reached out to us to help them maximize the opportunity while highlighting the Meta Quest mixed reality headset.

How Do You Explain Mixed Reality to Someone Who Doesn’t Own a Headset?

After spending a bunch of time in mixed reality, I realized the key to getting people to understand it’s magic wasn’t getting them to see it, it was getting them to feel it. We needed to find a way to communicate the feeling of being in two places at once: of being courtside at the Moda Center without ever having to leave your couch.

You Don’t Bring Sand to the Beach

Knowing that most of the NBA’s brand partners were going to build some sort of basketball-adjacent activation for All Star Weekend, we opted to create something that would stand out against a sea of branded basketballs. Enter the first annual Beat Saber Showdown, a two-day gaming tournament that was equal parts Creed, Bloodsport, and Monday Night Raw. We incorporated combat sports elements throughout — the tuxedoed emcee, the championship belts, the mystery entrants — to create an experience you didn’t need a headset to feel: the visceral, electric sensation of being in two places at once.

Quantum Theory

Our key insight — that compelling Meta Quest content showed audiences what it feels like to be int two places at once — proved to have real staying power. In the months following All Star Weekend, Meta asked us to create even more content that worked as variations on that theme, resulting in some of the strangest (and most fun to produce) videos I've ever made.

Gallery