OREANDA-NEWS. Nissan continues to showcase its Rogue model range with a Bronze Lion in the Mobile Category awarded at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for "Battle Test: A Nissan 360-Degree Virtual Reality Experience."

The immersive digital experience, simulating the battlefield from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,was made in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd., Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Skywalker Sound and global experience design agency Critical Mass.

The Nissan and Star Wars collaboration gives movie buffs, car lovers and virtual reality fans alike the opportunity to experience cinema-quality digital effects created by ILM, rendered in 360-degree, combined with immersive sound-design and mixing from Skywalker Sound.

"With this simulation experience, we're putting fans right in the middle of the action," said Jeremy Tucker, vice president, Marketing Communications & Media, Nissan North America, Inc. "One of our many objectives was to engage current and potential customers, and we successfully accomplished that."

The win reflects the global experience design agency's dedication to customer-centric experience design, and an understanding of Nissan's commitment to automotive safety. The "Battle Test" experience demonstrates the advanced safety features of the Nissan Intelligent Safety Shield®.

"Nissan was aimed at connecting audiences with the Nissan Rogue and its impressive array of safety features in an interactive and unforgettable format," added Chris Gokiert, President, Critical Mass. "We're thrilled to see 'Battle Test: A Nissan 360-Degree Virtual Reality Experience' receive the Bronze Mobile Lion."

The fully immersive experience was shortlisted for the mobile category, which includes some of the year's top digital work. 

"On the road, obstacles appear in 360°. To demonstrate this, a battle was staged that pits you against the greatest threats in the Star Wars universe in a 360-degree simulation straight out of the movies. It throws challenges at you from all sides as if you were actually there," said Steve Savic, executive creative director, Critical Mass.

The collaboration with Lucasfilm had a positive impact on sales of the Nissan Rogue. Year-over-year sales of Rogue were up 53 percent in December, 46 percent in January, 54 percent in February and 43 percent in March.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010.

Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2016, the company sold 5.63 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.72 trillion yen. Nissan engineers, manufactures and markets the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has a global workforce of 247,500 and has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault under the Renault-Nissan Alliance since 1999. In 2016, Nissan acquired a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors, which became the third member of the Alliance – a grouping with combined annual sales of almost 10 million units a year.