| Brief | The ObjectivePETA, the world’s biggest NGO for animal rights, wanted to change the tone of its communication. Brutal images of tortured animals and an accusing tone of voice repel people rather than making them stop and think. The idea of “Eye To Eye” was to change the communication from “in-your-face” to “face-to-face”, in order to make people rethink their consumer behavior.The IdeaIt is a psychological fact that empathy grows through personal dialogue. Numerous experiments have proven this. From antagonized political beliefs to the refugee crisis: if you understand your opponent, you open up to them and are more willing to take their point of view and change yours. Therefore, PETA initiated a real dialogue between an animal and human beings.How it was donePETA set up the world’s first application that combined VR with live acting. At events and summer festivals throughout Germany and the US, a rabbit welcomed people in a virtual world to an eye-to-eye dialogue. Nothing was scripted. Everything was open. Behind the virtual animal was no bot technology. It was triggered by a PETA activist with psychological training. He controlled the rabbit through face-recognition and body-tracking technology. His movements and facial expressions became the rabbit’s movements and facial expressions. His voice became the rabbit’s voice. Live – in real time.The OutcomeThe average dialogue between man and animal lasted twelve minutes. People completely forgot that they were talking to a virtual creature. They opened up to the rabbit, talked about their beliefs, about personal loss, fears and hopes. And they listened. Most of them described their experience as touching and moving, and they started to rethink their consumer behavior. The clip of the experiment gained over 2.5 million views. Media buzz helped the rabbit to spread its message even further. |