The Great American Eclipse on Monday, Aug, 21 is the first total eclipse that had been seen from coast to coast across the United States in nearly a century when the earth, the moon and the sun came under a single alignment. This phenomenon presented a unique opportunity for brands and TV news networks across the country to tune up for the once-in-a-lifetime event that would be watched by a huge audience.
The first big name that came up was that of CNN which has partnered automobile major, Volvo to cover the epoch-making solar eclipse. Ads featuring Volvo, produced by Courageous, which is the in-house brand studio of CNN, were shown during the break of the livestream of the once in a century solar eclipse.
The live ads showed Volvo in 4K virtual reality and 360-degree video across all of CNN’s digital and social platforms. SVP of news content partnerships at Turner Broadcasting, CNN’s parent company, Michal Shapira, said, “Since launching Courageous, we’ve been intensely focused on experimenting with new creative formats and innovating with our marketing partners to help tell more powerful brand stories. Live ads are simply the next iteration of this effort, born from the fact that we live in a ‘live’ culture that values real-time experiences. This incredible partnership aligns Volvo with CNN’s live VR capabilities, our award-winning brand studio Courageous, and massive global reach to capture this unique moment in time, while underscoring the spirit of the all-new Volvo XC60 to embrace the future.”
Bob Jacobs, VP – marketing product and brand communications at Volvo, said, “We wanted to bring the innovation and creativity that Volvo is known for into viewing the eclipse, a once-in-a-lifetime event. We developed a virtual reality and 360-degree camera concept that we pitched to multiple media outlets. After an extensive search, we chose to partner with CNN, who we believe will provide an exceptional and immersive media event.” As the eclipse progressed, Courageous filmed influencers, who shared their views on the significance of this momentous eclipse even as it happened, with the help of four cameras stationed across different locations around the country.