• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 2, 2022

With the baseball season in full swing (so to speak) Win Reality is doubling down with a campaign promoting its VR app that lets batters practice against real pitchers at every level up to and including Major League Baseball.

The app version for pros has been out for a while and new amateur/commercial version debuted last month.

Players and coaches can import statistics on any pitcher into Win Reality, so hitters can practice against them anytime. Thus a batter can practice against a specific rival pitcher with a 91-mph fastball that their coaches can’t easily produce. 

The app has caused some grumbling among MLB pitchers including Jake Diekman, now with the Boston Red Sox who during a post-game interview last year (when he was with the Oakland A’s) said it wasn’t fair that hitters have such a VR tool at their disposal while pitchers don’t.

The new “Be Ready For Real” campaign, from agency Greatest Common Factory, plays up those frustrations. In one spot a young pitcher likens the app to “cheating.” Another admits he “hates” the app.

The campaign also features retired New York Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia and his son Carsten who is headed to Georgia Tech and a likely career in the majors. One ad with the father-son duo shows what Carsten sees when he uses the app. “I love it,” he says, as the camera shifts to C.C. swinging with the app in their living room. CC pushes up the viewer and says, “Man I’m glad I’m retired.” 

“This is virtual reality as a tool, not a toy,” said John Trahar, creative and strategy lead at Greatest Common Factory. “Our campaign highlights the use of VR to achieve real world goals rather than as an escape from the real world." 

“Be ready for real” will run throughout the rest of the Major League Baseball season on ESPN, MLB streaming, and other OTT channels. In addition, a banner that says "Think you could hit that? Prove it." will run behind home plate in select ballparks.