DFB Jersey Game
- Brand
- Adidas
- Year
- 2017
- Objective
- Product Launch
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- UFOMAMMOOT
Objective
To launch Germany's new home shirt ahead of the 2018 World Cup, adidas wanted more than a static product post — a way to get fans to spend real time with the kit and look closely at its details. The brand built the reveal around Instagram Stories, where its core German football audience already lived, and aimed for a mechanic simple enough to run on any phone and spread through friendly competition.
Solution
Swiping up on an adidas football ad in Instagram Stories drops the player straight into the game, no app download required. They guide Mesut Özil across a bare 3D pitch, dodging obstacles and pulling off tricks with a single swipe gesture. Land a trick cleanly and the game shifts into bullet time — the action slows, the camera pushes in, and the new jersey spins into a full 360° close-up mid-run. The run ends in a score, which players can compare against friends and share back into their own Stories.
Results
In its first week, the game drew 11,000 players, who averaged 3-minute sessions and pulled off more than 15,000 tricks between them.
- 1
The game lives inside an Instagram Stories ad for adidas football; a swipe up on the ad opens the game directly in the mobile browser at adidas.dfb-jersey.com, with nothing to download or install.
- 2
The game begins immediately, with no menu: Mesut Özil is already dribbling a ball across a minimal, near-empty 3D scene.
- 3
The player steers Özil away from incoming obstacles with a single simple input; dodging and performing dribbling feints are the same action, so each run reads as a run of tricks rather than plain avoidance.
- 4
Successful moves trigger a bullet-time effect: the game slows down and the camera pushes in close on the new home kit, giving a detailed, 360-style look at the jersey.
- 5
Each run ends with a points total; sessions average around three minutes, during which players rack up a series of tricks.
- 6
After the run, the player can chase a top leaderboard spot, challenge friends, and share the score on social media.
