Air Tennis

Objective

American Express created an innovative experiential activation at the 2017 US Open to engage sports fans and build brand affinity through a groundbreaking technological experience. The campaign positioned Amex as a brand that brings exclusive, immersive experiences to premium sporting events, bridging premium payment services with tennis entertainment. A 360° marketing push — out-of-home ads, subway takeovers, radio spots and social videos — drove fans to the Fan Experience, with Air Tennis at its heart.

Solution

Air Tennis was an interactive game installation, built with Momentum Worldwide, where fans could play tennis against an AI opponent using only their body and hands, with no equipment or controllers required. The game employed kinetic motion sensing to track player movements and air haptics technology—five air tubes (two on each side, one overhead)—to simulate the sensation of returning the ball, combined with three-dimensional sound and UI game graphics for a multi-sensory, 4D experience. The AI adjusted difficulty in real time, growing more challenging when a player performed well and easing off when they struggled. Players aimed to achieve the longest rally against the computer opponent. Set up across 8 bays so multiple fans could play at once, the installation was part of American Express's 20,000-square-foot Fan Experience at the US Open venue.

Results

Over 20,000 participants played Air Tennis, and American Express measured a 166% increase in engagement. The activation won four Clio Sports awards — Gold for Event/Exhibit Design, Silver for Product Innovation, and Bronze each for Virtual/Augmented Reality and Events/Experiential — plus Clio Sports shortlists for Branded Entertainment/Content and Digital/Mobile/Games, alongside an Adweek Marketing Innovation recognition and The Drum's US Creative Work of the Week ('AMEX aces the US Open Fan Experience').