You’d never close your eyes in the middle of a real test drive, but Subaru Canada’s new 3D-audio virtual test drive tempts you to do just that.

Part of a campaign launching this week for the newly redesigned Subaru Legacy, developed by DDB Toronto, the online execution at Subaru.ca/DriveLikeNoOther mimicks realer-than-real human hearing. Developed with Toronto-based Pirate Radio, it uses a new ‘hypersonic’ recording technique based on biaural audio, providing the listener with a 3D listening experience.

‘At the end of the day, that’s what any good car communication is trying to do: bring you as close as possible to the experience [of driving the car] itself,’ says Andrew Simon, SVP and CD at DDB.

With media buys handled by OMD, the Legacy campaign also includes 60- and 30-second TV spots, ‘Steve’ which began airing this week, as well as print, online banners, DM, POS and a social media component on Autotrader, Craigslist and Flickr featuring mock ads for people wanting to trade in their inferior sedan. 

‘Our challenge was to build the brand by attracting a more mainstream audience for the new Subaru Legacy,’ Simon tells MiC. ‘To appeal to consumers and position the Legacy within the Japanese intermediate mid-sized sedan segment, we created an impactful message and are delivering it in a novel and engaging way through multiple contact points. Both traditional and social media outlets are being used to break through and get noticed.’