It isn’t easy to describe Watson in simple terms. It’s an enormous data analysis system featuring a level of artificial intelligence that hasn’t been seen before. To aid people in understanding its potential, IBM introduced it at this year’s Wimbledon, where it really enhanced the fans’ experience. Using millions of data points stretching back all the way to 1990, Watson was able, for instance, to select the matches that might be the most competitive, allowing fans to pay particular attention to them. It also worked out  the areas in which players had technically improved, and how this might impact on their performance in the tournament. It also provided an interface for fans in attendance at the matches, who were able to gain insight on particular players simply by pointing their smartphones at them. It even created automated highlights reels, using a combination of crowd noise, players’ facial expressions and social media excitement. 

In short, it’s an incredible, versatile piece of equipment. And it’s easy to see why they chose to advertise it at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament. Not only does Wimbledon have a colossal worldwide audience, it also ties in with one of Watson’s key ideas: accuracy. 

As part of this short campaign, we were commissioned to create a series of images of a tennis player. As you can see, these images were unusually tightly cropped, with the model’s head actually out of shot, resulting in striking photographs which really focus on the action of the tennis player, free from any distraction. It’s an effective technique and it adds a lot of impact.