The Imagination Machine

Background

What if you could actually fly to your dream travel destination using only the power of your brain? S7 Airlines, one of Russia’s biggest carriers, made this a reality with The Imagination Machine, a unique installation that uses EEG-technology to turn participant’s brains into game controllers. 

Idea

At a busy Moscow mall, S7 Airlines’ Imagination Machine gave shoppers the opportunity to see how far they could travel with the power of their imagination. Part of the Russian airline’s recent - ‘Fly to any place you can imagine’ campaign, the installation put the wonders of the world in the grasp of anyone who could truly stay focused on their dream destination.

Created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam in collaboration with Tellart, the Imagination Machine saw a participant steer a small physical plane on a large 2-meter projection-mapped globe with the power of their brain. Seated in front of the globe and having first been instructed to choose their destination, users were fitted with an EEG-brainwave headset that monitored brain activity throughout gameplay via a forehead biosensor and which determined a participant’s level of focus. This brainwave information was then sent from the EEG headset to the Imagination Machine’s algorithm that calculated the flight path in real-time to control and maneuvered the plane.

Starting halfway around the globe, each participant had 45-seconds to make it to their chosen destination. Once the game began two paths appeared on the globe – the ideal flight path that took you to your destination fastest, and a flight path that followed the user’s level of focus. The more focused a user was on their dream destination the closer the plane stayed to the ideal flight path.  If a user got distracted by the crowd or thought about what they would have for dinner for example, the plane would veer off course. But if they could stay focused and guide the plane to their dream destination within the given time, a return trip to their destination was won.

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Directors, Szymon Rose and Daniel Schaefer, comment: "It’s very exciting when you think of being able to steer a plane just by using your imagination. What makes this idea even more engaging though is the fact that we empower people to use their imagination to physically travel somewhere that they dream of going in the world. The Imagination Machine proves that the old saying ‘if you dream it, you can do it’ is actually true."

Matt Cottam, CCO at Tellart Amsterdam said: "It is incredible to live in a time when we can access almost every corner of our planet through sensors, video feeds and global communications that are practically free. Even with the highest-fidelity connections, the sense of virtual presence in a remote location will always pale in comparison to the real experience of being there–the sounds of a street, the smell of food, the light, the faces of strangers. The Imagination Machine combines sensing with a digital Earth and the exciting opportunity to travel the real world in all of its color." 

The Imagination Machine stunt was held in Moscow’s Afimall City mall. Over 200 people took part throughout the day, with 49 participants winning a round trip to their dream destination along with 5,000 S7 Airlines miles. Those who took part, but who weren’t successful in landing their plane also walked away with 5,000 air miles.

S7 Group Chief Marketing Officer, Tatiana Fileva, comments: “The Imagination Machine was a way to really bring to life the idea behind our recent ‘Fly to any place you can imagine’ integrated campaign. The stunt demonstrates that dreams can come true if you are open-minded and can imagine strongly enough. And S7 Airlines, together with their oneworld alliance partners, can make your fantasy a reality and fly you to the place of your dreams”.

The Imagination Machine was part of the integrated ‘Fly to any place you can imagine’ campaign which aimed to bring the wonder of flight to a new generation of Russian travellers. In partnership with oneworld alliance, S7 Airlines flies to over 900 destinations worldwide, truly taking travellers to any place they can imagine.

A film of The Imagination Machine can we be seen on S7 Airline’s YouTube page.

Results

The Imagination Machine stunt was held in Moscow's Afimall City mall. Over 200 people took part throughout the day. In the end, 49 people won but The Imagination Machine left everyone thinking about the place of their dreams and an airline that can take them there.

• 4.500+ new S7 Airlines loyalty program members on the stunt day. 
• Bookings increased by 20%.
• Unique site visitors increased by 53%.
• The story was covered by leading global media, achieving 82+ million earned views in the first week.
• The event film received 1.3+million views in the first week.