GORILLAZ | Gorillaz Presents | 2023
The Day a Virtual Band Took Over Real Streets / GORILLAZ "Gorillaz Presents"
In December 2022, something impossible appeared over Times Square and Piccadilly Circus. A four-person band dozens of meters tall, playing music on top of the buildings. Only visible if you held up your phone. A band that doesn't exist was, unmistakably, right there.
The problem
Gorillaz is a fictional four-member band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. For over 21 years, they'd built a music career without ever physically existing. To go with their new song "Skinny Ape," they teamed up with Google and Nexus Studios to take on a challenge: giving this band its first-ever live show.
The insight
They used Google's new alignment technology. Without needing to scan the city in advance, it could place AR content that lined up perfectly with the real buildings and skyline. Instead of keeping the experience confined to a screen, they wanted to gather people in person, so everyone would be looking up at the same thing in the same space together. That's what they bet on.
The idea
12/17 in New York, 12/18 in London. Fans downloaded an app and scanned a QR code on a screen on the street corner. Then, on top of the buildings, Murdoc and the rest of the band would appear and perform, as if they were really there. Under the direction of Jamie Hewlett, the band's existing 3D models were rebuilt so they could blend seamlessly into the city in real time.
What happened
Crowds gathered on site, singing and dancing. The official video passed 3 million views, and more than 230 media outlets covered it. The following year, in 2023, it won Gold in the Digital Craft category and Bronze in Entertainment for Music at Cannes Lions. It also picked up awards at the Webby Awards and Tribeca X.
Afterthought
For 21 years, Gorillaz existed as a band that didn't exist. On this day, for the first time, they were actually there. It feels less like technology making the impossible possible, and more like they invented a whole new way of "being present." And what's striking is that this wasn't pulled off by an ad agency, but by a production studio, a tech company, and the artist himself. The way they put that team together is part of what makes this so exciting.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2023
