This weekend, Las Vegas is witnessing the highly-anticipated Formula 1 Grand Prix, the most prestigious automotive racing series in the world. It's been over four decades since the storied racing event last took place in Las Vegas, but it has returned and has taken over the heart of the city.
Apart from a new street circuit for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a spectacular background element popped up - the MSG Sphere. Seen by many as a glimpse into the future of advertising, the $2.3 billion Sphere in the Venetian Resort has been completely booked by the Formula 1 organizers for the weekend, with the inventory sold to the event's long-standing sponsors and partners.
Aston Martin is one of them, and it will run a stunning ad to promote its DBX 707 high-performance luxury SUV throughout the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The British luxury automaker will actually showcase two models on the Sphere's Exosphere – the DBX707 and DB12. The enormous screen will essentially become an Aston Martin marketing bubble, with the company most likely hoping to replicate the success of last year's campaign, when 21% of the brand's paddock club guests ended up purchasing a new car that same year.
This year, Aston Martin has put together one of the coolest and most immersive MSG Sphere marketing campaigns, which includes not only the ad that will run on the world's largest LED screen but also a custom online configurator that features the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit. This marks the very first time an F1 race circuit has been featured in an auto configurator.
Photo: Aston Martin
As for the ad itself, it's a 90-second video that captivates the audience with its interesting graphics. It starts with the entire Exosphere lighting up in the brand's traditional green color and logo, which then transforms into the iconic scarab beetle that springs to life and shatters the Sphere to first reveal the Aston Martin F1 team's AMR23 race car, which performs a thrilling burn out.
It then proceeds to advertise the $250,000 DBX707, a performance-focused SUV that has been dubbed the fastest in the world, and the DB12, the world's first super tourer. Powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine delivering 697 hp, the DBX707 is able to sprint from zero to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 193 mph (310 kph).
The ad continues with an animated rendering of biometric data captured from a driver's pupils, heartbeat, and synapses. Many of those seeing the ad will probably have no idea what they're looking at, imagining that it's just some more CGI, but the idea behind these graphics is to convey the sensorial experience of driving an Aston Martin.
Aston Martin's head of global marketing and communications, Renato Bisignani, says the brand's MSG Sphere advertising campaign is "the largest display of a car that's ever been [seen] on digital media and … the world's most sophisticated car advertisement."
Since its public inauguration in late September, the Sphere has become a landmark of the Las Vegas Strip, with many brands recognizing its potential marketing value. Aston Martin is joining the ranks of YouTube, NBA, Microsoft, and the like to promote its products on the huge ball of light. Advertising on the Sphere reportedly costs around $450,000 for a day, but the rates are likely to be much higher during the Vegas Grand Prix.
Aston Martin will be running this ad on the Las Vegas Sphere all weekend.
Fun Fact: Aston Martin says 21% of their paddock club guests in 2022 ended up purchasing a new car that same year.
F1 has taken over the sphere for the weekend and sold the inventory to its partners. pic.twitter.com/puXdcbtsT3
After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors. Full profile
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