In February 2021, McLaren launched their all-new hybrid supercar, the Artura – ‘the full force of McLaren’. The culmination of a difficult year (where fans and buyers were locked-down at home), this launch was seen as a critical point at McLaren, showing that the company was focusing on the future. It was also their first 100% virtual car launch, and they wanted an experience that wasn’t just a digital replica of a car show – they were after a live show that surpassed physical car launches and made the most of the digital format.

In February 2021, McLaren launched their all-new hybrid supercar, the Artura – ‘the full force of McLaren’. The culmination of a difficult year, this was a critical point at McLaren, showing that the company was focusing on the future. It was also their first 100% virtual car launch, and they wanted an experience that wasn’t just a virtual replica of a car show – they wanted to surpass physical car launches and make the most of the digital format.

So we created an audiovisual interpretation of the full force(s) of McLaren coming together in a spectacular light and music show set at the McLaren Technology Centre, the very birthplace of the Artura. Science and magic coming together to form the supercar of the future.

It was their biggest launch ever and surpassed all client benchmarks. We unleashed the full power of digital.

With events and tradeshows cancelling it was time to focus on digital native experiences leveraging online behavior and platforms. McLaren fans across the globe had been looking forward to the launch after a difficult year and they were in for a treat. The key objective was to put McLaren back where it belongs on the forefront of luxury automotive, and we did this by generating excitement and interest for the Artura, through a live broadcast that showed science and magic coming together to form the supercar of the future.

We created a live-streamed virtual show to tell Artura’s story from start to finish.

First, we shone a spotlight on the brand with a cinematic heritage walkthrough voiced by CEO Mike Flewitt, laying out the importance of this launch and shifting McLaren’s focus to the future. The Artura’s signature colour, Flux green, was woven into the narrative through light design as Flewitt physically and narratively approached the Artura.

The walkthrough culminated in a virtual reveal-show, a spectacular audiovisual show teasing the car bit by bit – set in a large zoetrope-like circle of LED totems around the car, staged at McLaren HQ, featuring brand ambassador & race driver Daniel Ricciardo – all done entirely in camera.

Visually, the pre-programmed light sequence in Flux green was an abstract interpretation of the McLaren ‘force’ and the electric power of this hybrid supercar. We played with camera angles and natural reflections on the car itself as well as the lake that surrounds the McLaren building. All building up to science and magic coming together to form the supercar of the future.

The epic soundtrack, composed entirely inhouse, featured mixed-in voices and industrial sounds to symbolise man and machine in a fusion of forces.

The reveal was complemented by a bespoke microsite platform, a dynamic driving film with Daniel Ricciardo, a design deep-dive and a Q&A session between superfans and McLaren experts.

In terms of process it was a lean production with inhouse creative, a light show designer and programmer creating the sequence, and because it was the height of covid restrictions an extremely skeleton crew onsite capturing the show which was then broadcast live on YouTube and cars.mclaren.com. From idea conception to live event was only about 3 months.

With over 800,000 people interacting with the campaign and over 40,000 requesting further information, it was McLaren's biggest ever launch, surpassing all benchmarks. We unleashed the full power of digital