On May 5, Freightliner pulled off a dramatic product launch for its Inspiration Truck—the first self-driving semi truck licensed to drive on public roads—that earned it a Guinness World Record. Using the historic Hoover Dam as a massive projection screen, the truck producer displayed a presentation of video and imagery that told the story of the brand and its milestones.
The launch was a joint project between Freightliner in the United States and its parent company, Daimler AG, in Germany. Daimler Trucks North America's internal lead on the project was director of PR and corporate communications David Giroux. And from Daimler AG, director of global communications for commercial vehicles Florian Martens led the efforts. They tapped New York-based experiential marketing agency OSK Marketing & Communications, which produced the eye-popping stunt with help from Creative Technologies.
“This vehicle debut was one of the most sophisticated projects OSK Marketing & Communications has ever executed,” said OSK C.E.O. Andre Poehlker in a statement. “When we came up with the idea... it was more of an ambitious dream rather than a concrete concept. But after reaching out to the authorities at Hoover Dam and finding they were actually open to the concept, we pitched it to Freightliner and its parent Daimler AG. They were enthusiastic about the idea from the get-go."
The stunt's concept underscored a strong symbolic link between trucks and the Hoover Dam, given that the vehicles were instrumental in building the concrete structure. As part of the event, the new truck drove onto the dam from the mountains above. In the end, the event took the record for the highest light output projection ever.
Here's a look at the staggering numbers behind it.
17 people on the OSK team globally (seven on the lead team in New York) spearheaded the project, alongside 100 employees of contractors and vendors.
It took six months to conceptualize and execute the stunt.
The crowd consisted of 200 people, mostly national and global media including trade and general news, as well as investors and current and potential customers.
The surface of the dam is 420,000 square feet.
60 projectors were clustered 2,500 feet (a half mile) away from the dam.
The screen was the size of 87 IMAX screens, or nine football fields.
Organizers used 60 projectors at 26,000 watts each.
The resolution of the image was 4,592 by 2,048 pixels.
The show used 1.17 million lumens—the highest light output projection recorded.
