BBH turns ad icon Sir John Hegarty into VR icon

If you’ve been in the world of advertising, you’d have by now heard of Sir John Hegarty. But unfortunately, not many of us have had the chance to meet him. Taking advantage of the current climate, BBH is now turning the ad icon into a VR icon with its internal educational tool “Hegarty on...”.

Previously only available to staff, the experience is now open to all  on the BBH website. For greater immersion, the VR experience is available on Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, and Oculus headsets.  The tool allows adland to have a chance to have a face-to-face meeting with one of the world’s most awarded and respected admen. Shot in Hegarty’s iconic London office, Hegarty On… is an immersive experience, enhanced by a layer of animation, that sees the agency’s co-founder sharing his thoughts on creativity, art, philosophy, and advertising.

Developed by BBH Singapore in collaboration with directors The Kissinger Twins, along with MediaMonks, MIMO Production and Kuva, Hegarty On... comprises 17 short chapters and explores a broad selection of topics like: A Career in Creativity; Being different; Generating ideas and Coming up with Strategic solutions.

Joakim (Jab) Borgström, worldwide chief creative officer at BBH, said: “Everyone knows that Sir John is a great storyteller. Just before he retired from BBH we shot these videos in his office as we wanted to find an interesting way to capture his legacy in a space where many of his great ideas were born. His office doesnt exist anymore so these sessions are a link to that moment of time when he was still around at BBH. By using the 360 VR technology we have tried to make it as close to reality as possible.”

Most recently, BBH saw its Asia chairman Charles Wigley will be stepping down from his role after 19 years. He first joined the creative agency in 1987 as an account planner, and left five years later to join Bates. He returned to BBH in 2001 and has since helmed the Asia chairman role. Wigley will serve the agency until end of June, and will be relocating to the UK to complete the education of his two sons. 

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