‘SI’ goes virtual reality route for its swimsuit issue
‘Sports Illustrated’ goes high-tech route to engage
In the mid1800s, 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 in the Sports Il
lustrated VR videos are former cover models Hannah Davis, Irina Shayk and Nina Agdal.
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.
“We want to get out ahead in this space,” says SI Creative Director Chris Hercik. He says the publication plans to roll out more VR content this year to give viewers up-close access to a variety of scenes. “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.”
Virtual reality, which lets users see things such as three-dimensional images or 360-degree view of certain scenes through goggles, is expected to boom this year.
Hercik says Time is determined to use VR across its dozens of properties, which include Peo
ple, Fortune and InStyle. 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 New York Times has embraced VR, producing immersive reports about Europe’s refugees and Paris after the terrorist attacks. Last year, the company distributed a million cardboard smartphone goggles to print subscribers.
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.