Ad Nut
Jun 1, 2017

Frightening VR surrounds viewer with internal naysayers

Project by Porter Novelli Melbourne addresses eating disorders, also shows potential of VR beyond frivolous commercial promotions.

A vivid reconstruction of what it's like to have internal voices constantly putting one down, the video above is unsettling. So much so that Ad Nut shudders to think what the full VR experience would be like. 

The clip is the result of a pro bono project by Porter Novelli Melbourne for the Butterfly Foundation, which works with people who suffer from eating disorders.

The agency says the idea was to explore VR's potential for building empathy. After the VR experience, the number of people who reported feeling empathetic towards sufferers of eating disorders doubled to 82 percent, and nearly two thirds said they would be more likely to support the Butterfly Foundation in the future, according to the agency. Common phrasing around eating disorders before viewing included ‘anorexia’, ‘skinny’ and ‘bulimia’, but most common after screening were ‘fear’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘stigma’.

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Source:
Campaign Asia

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