How would you handle a migraine? If you’ve never had one, you probably think it’s just a bad headache. Excedrin, the head pain medication, set out to show the world that migraine is much more.

We built a migraine simulator using a modified Oculus Rift and challenged the friends, family and co-workers of migraine sufferers to take on the full range of their symptoms for just half an hour.

Our challenge was to tell the story of the experiment in a short, shareable film online that increased empathy toward migraine sufferers – effectively telling two stories, how the simulator was built, and the impact it had on non migraine sufferers.

We created a film that combined documentary style footage from the simulator’s development with actual footage of the experiment in progress from the subject’s point of view, showing the world that migraine is severe, complex, and much more than just a strong headache.

Understanding that every migraine is personal, we teamed real-life sufferers with VR developers to create a virtual world that mirrored the sufferers’ own experiences. Friends, family members and co-workers of migraine sufferers were challenged to take on a migraine for just 30 minutes in a regular day.

The experiment was filmed and uploaded to the brand’s YouTube channel, with traffic driven to the videos using paid media including pre-rolls and display advertising, as well as a dedicated page on the brand’s website. The campaign just recently launched in Poland on 24th April 2015 with a global roll out to follow. The campaign is set to be live in Poland until 31st July.

Utilising Oculus Rift enabled us to creative a piece of stand out communication that spoke to the consumers in a personable and honest tone, building on Excedrin’s global creative campaign ‘Though the Eyes.’

All volunteers that took part in the experiment said that without this experience they would have never known how severe migraine really is.

Alongside this, we surveyed a cross-section of 441 people who saw the finished video:

• 88% of respondents said it increased their understanding of migraine. More surprisingly, 80% of migraine sufferers themselves even said it increased their understanding.

• 92% of people felt more sympathetic to migraine sufferers after watching the video and 60% of migraine sufferers said that the video made them more likely to recommend Excedrin to another migraine sufferer.

The experiment was so successful Excedrin is streamlining the technology to be used as a sales aid and demonstration kit at press launches and trade shows. The brand also plans to take the kit on the road, allowing the public to experience it for themselves.