Virtually pointless

Dubai – Emirati travel agency Dnata’s latest campaign satirises the concept of taking a virtual holiday.

• Dnata wanted to show the insufficiencies of virtual reality travel when compared to the real thing
• The 30-second ads were distributed across social media, uploaded onto Dnata’s YouTube and Facebook pages

Responding to the growing prevalence of virtual reality headsets in consumers’ homes, as well as expert predictions that such technology might make travel obsolete, Dubai-based agency TBWA/RAAD created a series of playful ads that deride the notion of VR tourism.

‘Let’s face it: it’s impossible not to look stupid while wearing a VR set. Our idea was to simply illustrate this stupidity of people ‘travelling’ with VR,’ said Dnata in a statement.

The four adverts, directed by Ali Ali via production company Good People, cover adventures such as surfing in Bali, doing yoga in Phuket and watching the French Open in Paris. In each, the protagonist is shown physically enacting the proposed activity while wearing a headset in the banal surroundings of their home. The strap line reads ‘Travel for Real. It’s Better.’