AI Glasses Shoot Insane Stunts and Slo-Mo Dunks in Oakley Meta Super Bowl Ad feat. IShowSpeed
Oakley Meta’s Super Bowl debut is a high-octane showcase of everything its Performance AI Glasses have to offer.
Created by agency Mother LA, and directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet via Partizan, the Big Game ad kicks off an energetic campaign, ‘Athletic Intelligence Is Here’, introducing Oakley Meta’s two flagship products, HSTN and Vanguard.
Set to Travis Scott’s song ‘Hyaena’, the adrenaline-fuelled ad focuses on how Oakley Meta gives athletes a real-time competitive advantage, as well as an ability to record and share their achievements, with its in-built camera and Meta AI assistant: YouTube and Twitch streamer IShowSpeed uses hands-free capture while chasing a moving plane for the ultimate social post, former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch uses open-ear audio to stream a playlist as he skydives, and legendary director Spike Lee uses slow-motion capture to film an epic dunk at Rucker Park.
The star-studded cast is rounded out with PGA Tour breakout star Akshay Bhatia, and Olympians Sky Brown, Kate Courtney and Sunny Choi -- athletes who were teased in the weeks leading to the Big Game.
“Rather than showing up like another tech brand at the Super Bowl, Oakley Meta’s brief wanted us to live in the world of sport and create a campaign that would authentically resonate with athletes and prove the ways in which these glasses could enhance their performance and experience,” Galen Graham, group creative director at Mother LA tells LBB.
He shares that the creatives took a product-forward approach after they identified that the AI-enabled glasses had a cool factor previously unfamiliar to the category, choosing to “express the swagger” of the Oakley Meta partnership with the glasses prominently in frame. “Using the reflection of the lenses to tell the story highlights the beauty of the product and illustrates the point of view of the wearer, subtly expressing the camera feature of the glasses,” he says. “We’ve never seen a campaign executed like this; essential criteria for a new product launch on such a big stage.”
Visually, the spot uses these reflections, tightly cropped in on the athletes’ faces, as they perform their various stunts and activities, producing an immersive portrait of the Oakley Meta glasses experience. “I wanted this to be a rush you can really feel – fast, physical and totally instinctive,” said director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet. “The technology naturally flows right inside the action, so it feels like part of the ride and not a pause button.”
Galen describes the production as nothing short of “a technological feat”, highlighting the complex orchestration of vast quantities of pre-viz, extensive rehearsals and myriad camera rigs required for the shoots – not to mention the task of balancing all the schedules and dispositions of the celebrity talent.
The production was also invigorated by the client's commitment to authenticity. He shares, “[Cyclist] Kate Courtney insisted on doing her own stunt. She rode the course a number of times and took some big falls for us and bounced back every time (we can’t say the same for her bike). We used footage captured by the product in the edit for that moment.”
“Marshawn really impressed us,” he adds. “We had watched the Seahawk’s electrifying Thursday Night Football win over the Rams, and Marshawn was broadcasting at that game – it was the night before his shoot day. On set the next day, he was an absolute professional, bringing energy, charisma and patience when we know he was operating on less sleep. And [golfer] Akshay has such a refined swing that there was some debate in the edit about two different takes that were virtually identical – only a variation in a wrinkle in his shirt distinguished one from the other.”
This roster of athletes was selected specifically to showcase the AI glasses’ value in unexpected ways, explains Galen, hoping to reach a diversity of audiences. But perhaps most important was the inclusion of livestream sensation, IShowSpeed (real name Darren Watkins). Although his demanding schedule made him a challenge to secure, Mother managed to bring him on for the spot.
“We wanted to include him, certainly for his reach and audience but also for diversity of product use case,” says Galen. “IShowSpeed is famous for athletic stunts – like things we might all record with our friends – and his athleticism and theatrics are captivating. The glasses are a fun and useful tool, not just for traditional training but for spontaneous or improvised activities and, with the ability to make calls and post to Instagram, real-time sharing. IShowSpeed is the perfect ambassador for that.”
Split into two 30-second spots, part one of the 60-second film will air during the first quarter of the Super Bowl on February 8th, and part two will air during the third quarter. Additional short-form content is also running across the brand’s digital and social channels.
While the Super Bowl is the anchoring moment, the campaign will carry forward into the weeks after the broadcast. This social-first work will feature additional athletic talent using Oakley Meta AI glasses in their respective sports and training.
“This post-game body of work is targeted to everyday athletes and will show off the glasses’ product features in greater detail across various use-cases,” shares Galen. “We’ll see our talent take on the unexpected, enhance their training experience, get smarter on their performance, and push themselves further in ways that feel more relevant and relatable to everyday athletes.”
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