Creative Agency: IQ Interactive
The concept of the Time Machine came about because GP wanted to show people how well a home built today would hold up if it was built using GP products. GP knew people would understand the benefits if they could only see into the future, and the Time Machine allows them to do just that.
There was an incredible amount of planning behind this project. IQ had to create every background plate from scratch and place imaginary characters in beforehand. A lot of character blocking had to be done with the script, making it a similar process to that of creating a movie scene.
This site went far beyond anyone's expectations. The initial expectations were for still scenes with voiceover. IQ used full-motion 3D and full animation to make the site a truly engaging experience.
If there weren't the obvious limits within technology, additional 3D features would have made the project even more engaging. Because GP needed an application that was accessible for a wide range of consumers, the IQ team had to take bandwidth into account.
This is an exciting project because the building products industry has never marketed in such an experiential way.
-- Adam Boozer, creative director/partner, IQ Interactive
Problem: How do you make building materials interesting?
Answer: Time Machine!
Since "Time Machine" is my solution to almost every problem, I was eager to see what they'd done.
The video pop-ups are perfectly executed and the information layers are deep. Homeowners Jim and Mary Thompson take us from the attic to the basement, and you have to look very closely to discern that these characters were placed on top of a background scene. Each room contains a "hotspot" or two that offers more information about a specific GP product used in the room. We're invited in each case to hear a contractor talk about the materials used, in which case "Terry Webb," a voice-over done by a man who's watched too much "This Old House," is trying just a little too hard to sound "contractory." But he gets the point across: Use GP and your house is going to last.
There are plenty of opportunities to get to the real Georgia-Pacific website to learn more about each product as well as a button that takes you to a survey that asks if the GP Time Machine was a "valuable learning experience."
I could nitpick, but I'd only be nitpicking for fun. Like how come the kitchen of the future still has a sink? And why isn't the flatscreen in the basement covering the entire wall? Apparently we haven't progressed much by the year 2016 in terms of household conveniences. Perhaps Jim and Mary are into the "retro" look. (Interesting side note: Mary's favorite movie is a silent film about skiing.)
GP had to have been very satisfied with the final product delivered by IQ. In terms of interactive, IQ Interactive is in a Time Machine all their own. They're a couple steps ahead of today, taking a relatively boring topic and making it engaging, informative and fun.
-- Dave Wilkie, VP, creative, Kinetic Results and author of advertising blog Where's My Jetpack?
Let's face it. Energy efficient building supplies are not the kind of product synonymous with great ad campaigns. Usually sticking to strictly informational sites and brochures, the building products category is not likely to be one that makes a creative director exceptionally excited to work on. But this site is an excellent example of how interactive allows almost any product category to deliver both information and brand experience in a creative manner.
The integration of 3D modeling with green screen video and hotspots speaks to a very important purchase obstacle in any new homebuilder's mind-- "Will I regret this decision ten years from now?" The integration of the time machine concept adds a little bit of fun to the campaign as well.
The informational videos provide useful facts about the various Georgia-Pacific products that the family used for their house-- both from the point of view of the family, and from the builder.
This is a great concept and a great creative execution, though given the amount of time that it takes to get through the whole house, I think that less time could have been spent on the entertainment factor of the campaign and more on the informational. Additionally, there didn't seem to be a logical finishing point or call to action that allowed me to resolve my time travel and go back to the family and report what I'd found, possibly with a downloadable PDF to reference all of the products that we had experienced.
All in all, I think this was a very gutsy move for a typically banal product category, and think that this site is an excellent example of how experiential marketing can serve practically any industry.
-- Ryan Anderson, public relations manager, Fuel Industries