The Department Creates a Sellout Immersive Experience for Autosport International

Williams Martini Racing kicked off its 40th anniversary celebrations at Autosport International with a spectacular immersive feature created by The Department, the world’s first immersive agency, which saw visitors enter through a 1977 Williams F1 garage, go on a tour of four decades of the famous team, and emerge in a 2017 pit garage. 

Tickets for The Williams Experience sold out within 1 hour, and 1,200 racing enthusiasts were taken on an audio and visual journey through 40 years of Williams Racing, created using archive footage of the history of Williams Racing, narrated by Williams Racing founder and legend Frank Williams, and Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams, who was a VIP guest at the Autosport stage on the final day of the event. Lucky visitors to one performance of the experience were thrilled when Lance Stroll joined the tour.  Stroll is the youngest F1 driver in history, and was recently confirmed as a Williams driver for 2017.         

The Department’s interactive entertainment experience was one of the most popular attractions at Autosport International, a long-standing event which has a reputation for featuring some of the world’s fastest, most iconic cars with the latest technology and innovations.  Williams’ cars, drivers, team members and Williams Heritage were all celebrated at Autosport International.

You can check out the promotional film below:

Using professional actors, precise historical references, costumes, audio and the latest technologies, The Department took visitors to The Williams Experience on a journey through 4 decades of the most successful British Formula 1 team using sophisticated sound design, projection and audioscape, juxtaposed with Williams memorabilia including racing suits won by F1 legends including Keke Rosberg, and Jacques Villeneuve (who was a VIP guest at the Williams stand).  

The first room of the installation featured a recreation of a 1977 F1 garage, where professional actors directed by Katie Day, Artistic Director of The Other Way Works, reimagined a scenario from the iconic racing garage.  Visitors were then invited to wear Williams racing suits and headphones, before walking through a multi-screen inner sanctum with a White Williams car as its centerpiece, where they were given a visual and oral history of Williams.

The culmination of the immersive experience featured a contemporary Williams Racing car surrounded by dancers posing as contemporary Williams drivers simulating a pit stop choreographed by Gaz Davis.

Hamish Jenkinson, Executive Creative Director, The Department commented: “As a lifelong fan of F1 it’s a real honour for me to have the chance to celebrate and explore the rich legacy of Williams Martini Racing with this unique immersive experience at Autosport International. This experience has only been made possible in collaboration with Autosport International.

At The Department we pride ourselves on using the latest technologies combined with creative conception, to make interactive experiences that bring brands to life. And it’s exciting to be able to create an experience with Haymarket that examines the thrilling capabilities of Williams Martini Racing, taking the visitor on a journey from the origins of F1, through to a peek into what the future holds for the sport.”

The Department collaborated with a carefully selected group of experts in their fields on this unique event; choreographer and creative director Andy Turner with choreographer Gaz Davis; Sports broadcaster Matt Hill; Katie Day, Artistic Director of The Other Way Works; and Director/ Editor Ed Coleman.