British Army Campaign Deploys Oculus Rift to Tempt Recruits

ARMY LAUNCHES RESERVE RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN  AT WATERLOO STATIONThe British Army is using Oculus Rift to give potential recruits a taste of life in the armed services in its latest recruitment drive.

The campaign, developed by ad agency JWT and virtual reality specialists Visualise, places users in the middle of a live fire Army Reserve exercise on Salisbury Plain, operating a Challenger 2 tank.

The Oculus Rift campaign was deployed for the first time at Waterloo Station in London in the past week, with members of the public sitting in a Range Rover as the Oculus Rift placed them in a virtual environment and enabled them to communicate with other armoured vehicles driving alongside them.

Serving soldiers from London-based Reserve units 101 Royal Engineers, 135 Geographic Squadron, the Royal Yeomanry and 7 Rifles were also on hand to speak to interested commuters and answer questions, and the Oculus Rift event is being accompanied by a new television ad campaign.

“Research tells us that people from London feel their jobs are lacking challenge, excitement, the opportunity to travel and a clear long-term career plan – all of which are available at a world-class standard with the Army Reserve,” said Major General Chris Tickell, director general of Army Recruiting and Training Division.