Presenting the real world as depressing, Meta delivered a bizarre commercial for its virtual world during the 2022 Super Bowl.
During the Super Bowl final which was held last night, we were able to discover in addition to several trailers, some advertisements looking like Hollywood films. Sold at exorbitant prices, these advertisements broadcast on NBC did not all have the desired effect. Meta in particular was somewhat taken aback: by wanting to do promoting its Meta Quest 2 helmetMark Zuckerberg’s company delivered a dystopian and downright depressing view of the real world.
Driven by a group of musical animatronic characters worthy of a discount amusement park, the ad begins in a typical American diner, which gradually empties of its audience and finally falls into disrepair. The music (Don’t You Forget About Me from Simple Minds) comes to a halt, and one of the automatons ends up being dragged to a sinister local pawn shop. Tossed about from owner to owner, he must alternately face the rain, the snow and the coyotes, in a reality that is not exactly welcoming.
It is only once recovered by a futuristic space center that the life of the robotic dog will change. Now equipped with a Meta Quest 2 helmet, the character ends up find the world he left behind, but also all his friends. The opportunity for him to leave the dreary and depressing daily life in which he lived, to escape and relive his young and happy years.
Is the world that depressing?
If Meta has been relying on its virtual world for several months now, carried by its VR headsets, the tone of the company in this advertisement had the merit of surprising. Instead of presenting its metaverse as the place of all possibilities, GAFAM obviously preferred to compare it to a sad and depressing real world. On YouTube some even compared the short film to the dystopia of George Orwell 1984. In addition to creating some unease, the ad also recalls the episode of black-mirror San Junipero (season 3), where virtual reality allows people living and dead to find themselves in a delightfully retro, time-cut world.
