14 DAY TRIAL // Having just announced what the future holds for Project Natal, now Kinect for Xbox 360, Microsoft is already hard at work building unique, new experiences with the controller-free NUI device at the core. The Redmond company has inked an agreement with Chevrolet for the multiscreen advertising campaign that will allow customers to test-drive the upcoming Chevrolet Volt virtually by leveraging the capabilities of Kinect for Xbox 360. The automaker’s electrical car, scheduled for launch by the end of 2010, will be available for driving as part of Microsoft Game Studios’ first controller-free racing game, Kinect Joy Ride.
Kinect Joy Ride will involve voice and gesture interaction, and this is where Kinect for Xbox 360 comes in, as the new natural user interface model for Microsoft’s gaming console. The promise from the Redmond company is that gamers will be able to actually drive Chevrolet Volt in Kinect Joy Ride.
“Chevrolet Volt is not only offering a new way for car buyers to interact with and learn about a vehicle before heading to the dealership,” Darren Huston, corporate vice president of the Global Consumer & Online group at Microsoft, noted. “It’s enabling people to virtually test drive the Volt from the comfort of their own living room. This campaign showcases the kind of breakthrough digital campaigns we can deliver for marketers when we combine great partnerships with leading-edge software innovation.”
Microsoft and Chevrolet demonstrated the new Kinect for Xbox 360 Experience for Chevrolet Volt at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival today, June 22nd. However, the duo’s new ad campaign involves many more other Microsoft technologies on top of Kinect, including Bing, Microsoft Pivot and Deep Zoom, but also web properties such as MSN and MSN Auto.
“The Volt applies advanced environmental technology to give Chevrolet drivers freedom from the gas pump, making it one of the most exciting developments the automotive industry has seen in years,” Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet Marketing, added. “Our marketing campaign needs to reflect this. Kinect allows us to bring the excitement of the showroom to the living rooms of our customers. It’s a way for us to replicate the experience of physically engaging with a product that is essential to the customer’s purchasing decision.”