Immersive, first-of-its-kind virtual reality advertisement debuts ahead of film release

SAN FRANCISCO & SANTA MONICA, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 6, 2017 — Unity Technologies ( https://unity3d.com/), the leading creation engine for gaming and interactive entertainment and global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind virtual reality (VR) advertisement for the theatrical release of Jigsaw, the next film in the blockbuster Saw horror franchise. Built on Unity, the new Jigsaw Virtual Room interactive ad format is created within the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) emerging ad experience guidelines and will surface in VR apps made with Unity.

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The Jigsaw Virtual Room is truly an authentic experience, featuring real props from the movie rendered in VR, custom voice-over from Jigsaw-himself, actor Tobin Bell, and even includes shrines to each of the eight films in the Saw franchise. The Jigsaw Virtual Room is a scalable ad, offering an immersive VR experience that is complemented with mobile video across Unity’s massive ad platform. By running the movie trailer in addition to the Virtual Room, Lionsgate will reach millions of fans through this one program.

“The Jigsaw Virtual Room is just the beginning. Now that we’ve proven broad-reaching, deeply immersive ads are possible, we expect to see this trend continue with formats including VR, AR, 360 mobile video, and playables,” said Julie Shumaker, VP of Advertiser Solutions at Unity. “Brands will have the opportunity to tell their story in a way that elicits emotional, memorable interactions. As the development platform with the highest reach in AR, VR, and mobile games, we are excited to see what marketers will do next.”

“Advertising in VR combines the storytelling power of immersive content with the guaranteed reach of a media buy,” said David Edwards, SVP of Digital Marketing at Lionsgate. “We’re thrilled to have worked with Unity on this campaign, bringing Jigsaw into an engaging VR ad experience.”

The Jigsaw Virtual Room will also be distributed naturally within two VR apps: the Samsung Internet for VR app and Spiraloid’s Nanite Fulcrum. When Samsung extended its mobile web browser and built a VR web browser for Gear VR users, they made the core app in Unity. As a result, Unity was able to seamlessly integrate the Jigsaw Virtual Room into the Samsung Internet VR app, the first interactive experience to ever appear on its VR browser home screen. The Virtual Room will also appear in Spiraloid’s Nanite Fulcrum, which is the next step in the evolution of the graphic novel. Users will be able to enter an exclusive Jigsaw comic book panel where the same heart-pumping ad will live. Nanite Fulcrum will be on the GearVR and also on the Oculus Rift, showcasing the cross-platform benefits of running this ad format on Unity.

Lionsgate will debut the Jigsaw VR ad content within a custom-built experiential ‘Escape Room’ installation at New York Comic-Con from October 5-8, 2017, with an online launch happening later in the month leading into the film’s theatrical release this Halloween. To learn more about the Jigsaw Virtual Room and the Unity ads platform, please visit the Unity VR ads page.

Unity exists to democratize development, solve hard problems and enable success -- three core values that are the driving forces of Unity’s adoption by millions of creators. Unity reaches more than 3 billion devices worldwide and was installed more than 16 billion times in 2016 alone.

About Unity Technologies

Unity Technologies is the creator of a flexible and high-performance end-to-end development platform used to create rich interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR experiences. Unity’s powerful graphics engine and full-featured editor serve as the foundation to develop beautiful games or apps and easily bring them to multiple platforms: mobile devices, home entertainment systems, personal computers, and embedded systems. Unity also offers solutions and services for creating games, boosting productivity, and connecting with audiences including Unity Ads, Unity Analytics, Unity Asset Store, Unity Cloud Build, Unity Collaborate, Unity Connect and Unity Certification. Unity Technologies serves millions of registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists around the globe. For more information, visit www.unity3d.com and to see the latest games and experiences created in Unity, go to madewith.unity.com.

About Lionsgate

The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global content platform whose films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences around the world. In addition to its filmed entertainment leadership, Lionsgate content drives a growing presence in interactive and location-based entertainment, gaming, virtual reality and other new entertainment technologies. Lionsgate’s content initiatives are backed by a 16,000-title film and television library and delivered through a global licensing infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the Company’s worldwide consumer base.