👾 Lost in Reddit
We wanted to introduce Cozmo to a new, super cynical audience on Reddit & give him instant cred, so we made a 6 hour, live interactive game / event where Redditors could control Cozmo together...
Classic.
Building the (miniature) world
Manifesting Reddit in a physical form was no small task. We partnered with Bent to design & construct these fabulously detailed Cozmo sized, 1:24 scale sets. Each set represented a corresponding sub-reddit, & was chock-full of bespoke props, moving parts, special effect lighting, amazing graphics, easter eggs & inside jokes.
As Cozmo progressed through the game, the sets had to be puppeteered to lower bridges, open doors, operate appliances, lift platforms, drive a crazy shark robot called the 'HI-5000', control a dozen screens in multiple sets & even fire Cozmo across the room from a trebuchet.
Engineering chaos
Our team worked closely with the Anki engineers to hack the SDK, giving us complete control over Cozmo. Two operators ‘piloted’ Cozmo—one in charge of driving & general movement, one in charge of his emotion (facial expressions, vocalizations, animations, etc.).
We rigged up a small army of 10 Cozmo’s, & could switch between units in an instant whenever Cozmo had trouble due to his finite battery life, difficulty navigating the sets, wireless signal dropping or simply falling where he couldn’t get up.
We also integrated with the folks at Reddit to completely take over the site for 24 hours & gain access to their users & backend infrastructure. Our game had a simple Reddit-inspired up-voting interface, letting players dictate the storyline by deciding what Cozmo would do next. Once a vote was complete, we had to rapidly communicate & execute in real-time on set. It was like the worlds longest, & most technically complex improvisational theater experiment.
A one of a kind production
It was important to capture every detail of this ‘hero’s journey’ beautifully & cinematically. Our production team used state-of-the-art cameras, technology & techniques to cover the action, be mobile enough to switch rooms / locations at Reddit’s whim, & to ultimately deliver broadcast quality video & audio.
Our tiny live band
An immersive live score & live foley played a central role in elevating this beyond a product demo. We composed 8 original songs with Helio Sound, each tied together with a common motif, & our band performed the entire thing live.
Each song stretched in length to accommodate gameplay - some as short as 2 minutes while others went on for over an hour.
Listen to the full sound track here.
Each song stretched in length to accommodate gameplay - some as short as 2 minutes while others went on for over an hour.
Listen to the full sound track here.
Going live
Simply put: this was the most successful live streaming, branded robotic entertainment, digital to physical, metaphorical, theatrical, marketing activation, interactive-social-gamification-experiment-internet-chaos-experiment-thingy ever conducted.
Got 6 hours to spare? Watch it all here.
Concept development, Art direction, music supervision, foley supervision, animation supervision, design, on screen talent (aka Vanna White hands).
📈 Result:
The players on Reddit could have totally sabotaged the game, leaving Cozmo lost forever, but after 5 hours & 40 minutes he finally escaped. 2 million people watched across the internet as over 30,000 players banded together to help Cozmo escape the weirdest experience of his robotic life. Alexis Ohanian (founder of Reddit) called it “The best brand activation on Reddit I’ve ever seen.”
The players on Reddit could have totally sabotaged the game, leaving Cozmo lost forever, but after 5 hours & 40 minutes he finally escaped. 2 million people watched across the internet as over 30,000 players banded together to help Cozmo escape the weirdest experience of his robotic life. Alexis Ohanian (founder of Reddit) called it “The best brand activation on Reddit I’ve ever seen.”
Selected Press: TechCrunch, AdWeek, Ad Age, & Fast Company.
🧑🤝🧑 With:
Dan Viens, Nick Morrissey, Grant Thomas, Jonathan Minori, Ryan Hartsfield, Maxwell Folley, Jonathan Henning, Dennis Hanley, Lily Darby, Keith Hamilton, Claire Wilson, Jenna Simmons, Nate Hortsmann, Dave Gilvar, Jesica Marquez, Manxue Wang, James Steele, Laurie Holtz, Patrick Nistler, & Eric Reigert
Dan Viens, Nick Morrissey, Grant Thomas, Jonathan Minori, Ryan Hartsfield, Maxwell Folley, Jonathan Henning, Dennis Hanley, Lily Darby, Keith Hamilton, Claire Wilson, Jenna Simmons, Nate Hortsmann, Dave Gilvar, Jesica Marquez, Manxue Wang, James Steele, Laurie Holtz, Patrick Nistler, & Eric Reigert
🎬 Partners:
Set Production: Bent Image Lab, Live Event Production: Uncle Toad’s Media Group, Scoring / Live band: Helio Sound, Trailer Song Production: Crystal Creative, Foley Design: Joint Editorial, Pixel Art: Andy Gregg, 3D & Animation: W+K Motion, Design Support: W+K Studio Portland, Sound Stage: Cine Rent West, Hosts: Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico, Alex Corea
Somehow, I was the Anki 'Hand of God', jumping in anytime Cozmo needed help. The costume started as opera length gloves, & turned into a full body spandex suit, replete with logos. It was fun / highly exposing...