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Marshawn Lynch, Spike Lee Unlock the Power of Oakley Meta Glasses for Big Game
It's all about changing perspectives
Oakley Meta makes its Super Bowl debut with “Athletic Intelligence Is Here, Parts One and Part Two”—a pair of immersive and intense 30-second spots from Mother L.A. They vividly showcase the capabilities of the brand’s AI Glasses. (Look for Part One in the first quarter. Part Two follows in the third quarter.)
Some highlights include legendary running back Marshawn Lynch skydiving toward a football while using open-ear audio to stream his Beast Mode playlist and Spike Lee employing slow-motion capture on Oakley Meta HSTN to film an epic dunk at Rucker Park. (That’s the iconic Harlem site known for high-level pickup games).
Also, Golfer Askhay Bhatia and three Olympians—skateboarder Sky Brown, mountain biker Kate Courtney and breakdancer Sunny Choi—are seen making the most of the high-tech specs along with YouTuber IShowSpeed. Travis Scott’s high-energy “Hyaena” provides the soundtrack to the action-packed work.
“Meta came to us with a very clear brief and ask—to drive breakthrough at the Super Bowl for Oakley Meta’s AI glasses, in a way that not only garnered outsized attention, but proved their relevance to athletes of all levels and sports,” explains Galen Graham, Mother L.A. group creative director.
“Athletes are often looking for an edge, so we want to help show how Oakley Meta glasses can help them take their performance to the next level,” adds Kimberley Blanding, Meta’s global director of wearables.
The ads use reflections on the eyewear lenses to help viewers share the experience of those wearing the glasses. “Telling this story through the reflections in the glasses highlights the natural connection and immersion they provide. When you’re wearing Oakley Meta glasses, you’re fully engaged in your environment and activity hands-free,” Graham says. “Plus, the glasses are beautiful, and leaning into the quality of the reflections helped us tell a compelling story in a unique way.”
Antoine Bardou-Jacquet of Parizan directed the campaign. “We chose Antoine for the vision he showed in his treatment, the effort he put into a pre-vis to support his treatment and past experience doing another global campaign with him that earned our trust in his attention to detail and desire to create a distinctive, iconic and beautiful film,” Graham says.
VFX house Mathematic was instrumental to achieving the complex, seamless effects. “It was quite an undertaking,” Graham says. “We worked with Mathematic to leverage their experience and their Los Angeles and Paris-based teams. We captured the real in-camera reflections, and in some cases were able to use them for final picture. For others, we used a variety of cameras to capture the POV footage, created 3D renders and integrated it into the final shots.”
As for the casting, getting Lynch was high on Mother L.A.’s list of priorities. “Both in terms of wanting to celebrate his unique personality and because at the time of production his former team, the Seattle Seahawks, were favored to go to the Super Bowl,” Graham says.
“Not only have the Seahawks made it, but it’s a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, where they lost to the Patriots on the last play because they opted to pass instead of hand the ball off to Marshawn” who had a league-leading 17 touchdowns that season. “Basically, it’s the best case scenario with all the attention Marshawn is sure to receive around the game, hopefully, drawing more attention to our spot.”
FYI: Mother hasn’t had a spot in the Super Bowl since 2018, and this is the L.A. office’s first-ever Big Game appearance.
“The opportunity to be back on the biggest stage feels incredible and being able to use that stage to introduce the country to such a revolutionary product with such a star-studded cast was an absolute dream come true,” says Graham.
