4 1/2 Weeks To Save The World

Objective

Old Spice launched a branded game campaign to promote its Champion scent by capitalizing on the December 21, 2012 Mayan doomsday prophecy. The campaign enlisted NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo as a global brand ambassador to create an entertaining, real-time interactive experience that would drive brand awareness and engagement through humorous, topical storytelling.

Solution

The campaign consisted of a series of five browser-based game chapters released weekly over four-and-a-half weeks, each featuring a different apocalyptic threat for Dikembe Mutombo to overcome—including a dance craze, vampire invasion, and alien attack. Designed in the style of classic 8- and 16-bit arcade games (Battletoads, Gradius), each mission allowed Mutombo to voice his character and comment on current events and trends such as economic issues, consumerism, and pop culture. Players earned extra days on the Mayan calendar based on their in-game performance, with quests tied to real-time news—among them a mission to get people to stop dancing Gangnam Style so they could vote, capped by a boss fight themed on the state of Ohio during the 2012 U.S. election, a Thanksgiving-themed level built around a toy called Blurgies, and cameos from figures such as the Queen of England and boxer Manny Pacquiao crossing Mutombo's path. Each weekly level was written, animated, and programmed on a rapid, real-time production cycle so the game could react to breaking headlines. The game was embeddable directly on partner websites, with missions reflecting real-time news and events occurring during the campaign period; a physical console version was also built for internal agency use.

Results

The campaign won a 2013 Webby Award and was featured as a case study in the 2013 PRSA Silver Anvil Awards.