The North Face set out to launch VECTIV, a trail running shoe built from the ground up to change the sport. At the same moment, elite ultra runner Pau Capell was attempting to break the 20 hour barrier at UTMB, one of the most demanding endurance races in the world, set around the Mont Blanc massif.
With global travel restrictions still in place, The North Face and their comms agency, Mongoose needed a way to connect journalists and key voices to the scale, intensity, and emotion of this moment. Our role was to find a way to bring people as close to the race, the athletes, and the innovation as possible, without them ever leaving home.
The answer was an immersive VR experience, shipped directly to press and influencers alongside the VECTIV shoe, transporting them into the heart of UTMB and the landscapes that define it.
Mountain and Material
Nature was not just a backdrop for the experience, it became a material in its own right. As part of the production, we LiDAR scanned sections of the Mont Blanc massif, capturing the terrain with extreme precision. These scans allowed us to build virtual moments that blended seamlessly with the VECTIV shoe, the typography, and the wider visual language of the experience.
By weaving design directly into the scanned landscape, we were able to create a world that felt grounded in reality while still feeling elevated and intentional. Rock forms, elevation data, and natural textures became part of a crafted visual system that surrounded the viewer. The result was a deeply immersive, design led environment where product, performance, and place were inseparable, pulling viewers further into the story of the mountain and the innovation built to move across it.
Production Under Extreme Conditions
Capturing UTMB properly meant meeting the race on its own terms. Over the course of a 10 day shoot, our agile team worked at high altitude across three countries, following the course as it wrapped around Mont Blanc. Conditions were often harsh and unpredictable, from snow covered ridgelines to long days navigating remote terrain with limited access and tight windows.
Everything was captured in 11K 360 video, demanding precision, speed, and resilience from the entire crew. Filming at altitude, carrying specialist equipment, and working around race conditions required careful planning and constant adaptation. It was a production defined by physical challenge, compressed timelines, and the need to get it right first time.
Real Stories at the Heart of the Race
At the centre of the experience were the athletes themselves. Working closely with Pau Capell, James Poole from The North Face Explorer Team, and Fernanda Maciel, one of the leading female ultra runners at the time, we focused on the human stories that make UTMB so powerful.
Rather than simply documenting the race, the experience invited viewers into pivotal moments along the course. Moments of focus, fatigue, determination, and awe, set against the vast scale of Mont Blanc. The race became the backdrop for understanding what the VECTIV shoe was designed for, uncompromising terrain, relentless distance, and athletes operating at the very edge of performance.
Through these stories, the shoe’s innovation was not just explained, but felt. Its purpose and performance were inseparable from the environment and the people pushing through it.
