The Power of Swimming
E.ON
Issue 40 | September 2016
Agency
M&C Saatchi Stockholm
Creative Team
M&C Saatchi Stockholm
Production Team
Apartment 5; Lygrell & Silver
Date
July 2016
Background
Sweden….land of lakes and surrounded by the sea. Yet one in five Swedish children can’t swim (not, one assumes, because they don’t have access to heated indoor pools).
Swimming is a life skill and those children who can’t swim lack confidence and suffer from low self-esteem, especially when their peers can.
Idea
Energy company E.ON and the Swedish Swimming Federation wanted to help children lose their fear of water via new technology.
According to psychologist Philip Lindner, short and controlled exposure to situations people fear can help them overcome their worries and motivate them to change.
The children were equipped with virtual reality (VR) technology, and introduced to three members of the Swedish swimming team to act as guides and helpers.
After taking a ‘virtual’ plunge, the children were emboldened to try it for real with the professional swimmers coaching them.
A YouTube film of the VR trial encouraged would-be swimmers to visit the E.ON website to get a free VR headset.
The campaign is being rolled out with live events in major Swedish cities.
Results
The campaign launched in July so it’s too early for any results.
Our Thoughts
Most VR projects seem to be about pure whizz-bang entertainment, so it’s nice to see the technology being put to a social use by an advertiser.
There’s a gentle low-key air to this project, and it makes a simple point about the merits of swimming. Whatever benefits there are for E.ON – which, judging by the way its logo is emblazoned on the team’s swim caps, suggests it sponsors the team – are of the slow-burn type. This makes its involvement all the more commendable.