Nissan ARIYA Takes Trip into the Metaverse With 'Electrified Art' Campaign

Nissan ARIYA Takes Trip into the Metaverse With 'Electrified Art' Campaign

The new immersive art campaign presents five pieces from five artists, each representing how the Nissan ARIYA could electrify the future of their respective cities.

Japanese manufacturer Nissan have created a new and exciting campaign for their electric ARIYA model, presenting an immersive, AR experience that is quite literally out of this world.

Taking to the metaverse, the brand kickstarted their campaign asking five artists from different cities to each produce a piece of artwork representing how the Nissan ARIYA will transform and electrify the future of motoring.

Utilising WebXR technology, the electronic artwork can be viewed in both 2D and 3D, providing an immersive experience for viewers however they access it- whether on mobile, desktop or VR.

The campaign began with five artists who were briefed to create images of the Nissan ARIYA in five of the UK’s most popular cities- London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool. The brief was to use their own interpretation of how the Nissan ARIYA could be a ‘ray of hope’ for the future in their cities.

Here’s what they produced:

Retro Manni (Birmingham)

Representing Birmingham’s electrified future, artist Retro Manni created a futuristic setting with a spaceman leaving his car in a desert landscape, with a second person entering a portal into another dimension. Meanwhile, the Nissan ARIYA stands off to one side on an electrified grid representing its power, with its headlights illuminating the darkness, against a dramatic backdrop of the Birmingham city skyline.

Explaining the concept for this piece, the artist’s description reads:

“The story behind the two figures?

Two evolved humans have found a way to bring future technology into the present through interdimensional portals.

The idea is that a better world exists in another dimension and we’re finally tapping into its potential.”

Tishk Barzanji (London)

Viewers are transported to a vibrant cityscape of London with Tishk Barzanji’s piece, depicting a futuristic, electrified London as the Nissan ARIYA whizzes through the city, with streaks of light demonstrating its connection to a technologically evolving city as electric energy makes itself at home. The Nissan badge displayed proudly in the corner, the piece evokes the excitement of change and progress associated with the electrification movement.

Describing the piece, Tishk says:

“The story behind my piece is about elevating and electrifying London into the future and beyond.

The horizon shows a futuristic cityscape, representing progress through technology, electrification, and energy.

In the foreground, Nissan ARIYA charges through London. As it moves through the streets it pulses with electricity, connecting to the streets through streaks of light and glowing colours.”

Janice Leung (Leeds)

Taking the Nissan ARIYA to the bustling city of Leeds, Janice Leung depicts the car sweeping through a dramatic cityscape, leaving a vibrant trail of electric energy in its wake, with a pop-up style backdrop of city buildings where there is much to take in. It presents another futuristic setting in which the Nissan ARIYA looks and feels at home, as an icon of the modern move to electric power.

Explaining the story behind her piece, Janice says:

“My piece is all about the excitement of an electrified road trip through the city of Leeds and beyond.

The panoramic illustration shows the route that Nissan ARIYA has taken through the streets with bold, neon trails.

My aim is to give viewers a scene that they can spend some time exploring, with lots to look at and find. It should mirror the feeling we get when we’re exploring a new, electrified city.

Vibrant gradients bring the city to electrifying life as the energy of the car turns it on.”

Neil Keating (Liverpool)

Neil Keating’s piece depicts the Nissan ARIYA in a fun, cartoon-like Liverpool setting, taking inspiration from Japanese artwork. The urban setting is filled with colour creating a quirky, playful expression with the Nissan ARIYA at the forefront, surrounded by energy.

Taking viewers through his work, Neil says:

“Taking inspiration from iconic Japanese illustrations, this piece shows Nissan ARIYA driving through Liverpool trailed by a powerful wave of energy.

The surge of electricity created by ARIYA brings the cityscape and its characters to life. The wonderfully unique scene bursts with colours and energy.”

Antidote (Manchester)

The final piece comes from Antidote (Christian Goss), depicting the Nissan ARIYA traversing through a futuristic Manchester, with a carefully controlled colour scheme to represent the electric future of motoring with the model. The Nissan ARIYA takes centre stage, standing out within its dark, city surroundings with the road emphasised through streaks of energy.

Contextualising the piece, Christian says:

“I created a futuristic Manchester streetscape to show the electric force behind Nissan ARIYA.

Streaks of red electricity pulse through the streets and also represent taillight reflections that you see when night-time driving.

ARIYA stands out in the scene as the future of electrified driving begins.

My style is represented in the buildings wrapped with a deep glassy layer. Blue hues represent the electricity that runs through all of our homes and powers our cities.”

The works then come to life when viewers scan a QR code, which transports them into the metaverse via an electrified landing page on the Nissan website, which you can explore here.

In a game-like introduction, viewers are instructed to connect power leads together to start the experience before they can then navigate to the different portals allowing them to jump in and out of the different art pieces where they can explore further.

At the centre of this virtual reality, of course, is the Nissan ARIYA itself which when clicked takes viewers to the vehicle page.

Nissan GB Marketing Director Nic Thomas said:

“The Japanese timeless design and innovation of the ARIYA allows us to influence and explore new ways of communicating with our customers and I am very excited to be able to promote Nissan as one of the first Car manufacturers to utilise the Metaverse in this immersive and inclusive manner. This is the start for us to continue to explore and test and learn new ways of bringing our electrified brand stories to life and showcase our own product innovations in an environment that fits with our innovative leadership brand values.”

Barry Christie, Global Creative Lead at Meta Creative Shop said:

“With the Nissan Electric Lab, you can get really close to the new Nissan ARIYA and the campaign’s artists electrified artwork; in fact, you can literally step into it with a Meta Quest headset for a fully immersive experience or explore it in 3D on your mobile or computer.”

For those new to the metaverse, it’s a virtual experience which ranges from 2D video to AR, and immersive 3D VR worlds, which together will form the next generation of the internet.

It’s still very much in development, though it’s expected to expand over the next decade and Nissan are one of the first brands to delve into the metaverse for their campaign, using 2D and 3D technology to put an innovative, immersive spin on their latest electric vehicle.

With the campaign set to run over the next two months, it will be sure to rouse curiosity in the Nissan ARIYA thanks to the unique experience offered to customers. Orders for the ARIYA are open with deliveries now being made.

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