‘ SI’ swimsuit app unveils virtual reality in fantasy issue
Magazine to engage readers with high- tech
In the mid
SAN FRANCISCO 1800s, showman P. T. Barnum decided to drum up crowds for his circus by blanketing cities with advertisements and posters. Fast- forward 150 years, and media outlets are starting to do the same with virtual reality.
Sports Illustrated announced Monday its annual swimsuit edition — which claims a readership of 60 million and has raked in $ 1 billion in revenue over its 52- year history— is bringing readers to its photo shoots courtesy of virtual reality.
The Time Inc. magazine’s new Swimsuit app includes 11 VR clips shot by Venice Beach, Calif.- based content creators Wevr while on location last November at the Dominican Republic beach resort of Casa de Campo. The women featured inthe Sports Illustrated VR videos are former cover models Hannah Davis, Irina Shayk and Nina Agdal.
( For the first time, themagazine itself will feature three separate covers, featuring Hailey Clauson, plus- size model Ashley Graham and a body- painted Ronda Rousey, as well as spotlight 56year- old Nicola Griffin, magazine editors said Saturday.)
Consumers have the option of viewing the VR videos either on their smartphones ( with or without goggles such as Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR) or on coming high- end units such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Some videos are free and other clips will be accessible to subscribers through special codes.
“We want to get out ahead in this space,” says Chris Hercik, creative director at SI, noting the magazine aims to roll out more VR content this year. “Sure it’s nice to be courtside at a game ( in VR), but we can take you to a practice or inside a locker room.”
Hercik says Time is determined to use VR across its dozens of properties, which include People, Fortune and In
Style. He is convinced VR will prove invaluable in engaging an increasingly fickle audience.
Media giants are racing to leverage virtual- reality content in their efforts to both stay with the times and engender consumer loyalty. Gannett, which owns USA TODAY and a network of nearly 100 publications across the country, has brought readers to the streets of Havana and inside a Blue Angels jet via VR.
The United Nations has taken advantage of VR’s ability to generate empathy. Its 2015 short film Clouds Over Sidra, about a young Syrian refugee’s life in a camp, has won a number of awards and put a spotlight on the transportive nature of VR content.