AR You Ready?!
View the case- Brand
- Pringles
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Mike John Otto
Objective
Pringles wanted a foothold in gaming and pop culture right as the 2022 World Cup kicked off, reaching Gen Z and gamers without pulling attention away from the shelf. The activation had to work straight off a can already in someone's hands — no app download, no barrier between shelf and play. A built-in commercial hook came along for the ride: collecting all six characters meant buying all six flavors.
Solution
Scan the QR code printed on a Pringles can and the game loads straight in your phone's browser — point the camera at the actual can, and it becomes the playing field. A ball comes at the can's front label and you strike it, racing the clock as each hit chips away another piece of the printed shell. Underneath, a hidden 3D character slowly comes into view, one of six tied to the six best-selling flavors. Land enough hits to blast off the whole front and the character breaks loose and celebrates. Unlock one and you can save it and enter a drawing to win a real 15cm 3D-printed figurine of it, mailed out in a red gift box.
Results
Sales rose 32% over the campaign period, with game starts and engagement running significantly above target.
- 1
Players are invited to play through QR codes found on Pringles cans on store shelves and at home, on in-store POS displays, and on street billboards redesigned as giant Pringles cans.
- 2
Scanning the QR code opens a browser-based game at a dedicated web address; nothing needs to be downloaded or installed.
- 3
The game requests camera access and asks the player to place a real Pringles can in frame, using it as the anchor for an AR scene.
- 4
The can's front is mapped as a digital wall to strike, and the player aims and kicks a ball at it under a timer.
- 5
Accurate hits chip away chunks of the can's facade like breaking chips, gradually revealing a 3D character hidden inside; enough successful hits clear the whole front and free the character.
- 6
The freed character leaps out and celebrates with its own animation matching its personality, from a gruff coach to an ecstatic superfan.
- 7
The player saves the unlocked character to a personal collection and is prompted to register for a chance to win a physical figurine.
- 8
Each of the six flavor varieties hides a different character, so completing the full set requires buying all six cans.
- 9
Players who collect all six characters are entered into a weekly drawing for one of 72 exclusive 3D-printed figurines packaged in a branded red gift box.
