Dive Brief:

• Clorox and AOL have partnered for a 360-degree video campaign that illustrates the lack of safe drinking water in Peru, as outlined in a joint press release.
• The VR effort, part of Clorox's The Safe Water project, aims to provide consumers with an immersive experience on a topic that might otherwise seem distant.
• The campaign is viewable via the HuffPost RYOT app, on YouTube 360 or through any VR headset.

Dive Insight:

The latest effort from Clorox is a high-level, rich media content marketing piece that highlights a significant world problem while creating brand awareness via a bleeding edge technology. Clorox and AOL's campaign shows that 360-degree video is not only useful for crafting more straightforward advertisements but also can fully immerse consumers in public causes they might otherwise feel detached from.  

In a similar play, the Johnnie Walker brand recently launched a VR effort to simulate the perils of drunk driving. VR and 360-degree video experiences are being shown to have a higher emotional impact than more traditional mediums of brand storytelling: A recent YuMe/Nielsen joint study found virtual reality created a 27% higher reaction than the same experience presented in flat 2D, which means VR has significant potential in communicating the devastation of issues like a lack of clean water or drunk driving fatalities. 

Immersive video is one of the most accessible types of the virtual reality experience. Even though it's a format most effective via a VR headset, it can easily be viewed on a smartphone, without hardware. As the technology and its production become more widespread thanks to new players like Google's Daydream View, it’s likely that more brands will tap the tech to create immersive experiences like the Clorox Safe Water Project.