Fill the Sky iPhone app

Objective

Ogilvy & Mather China created an interactive mobile experience to celebrate the 2011 Chinese New Year and Year of the Rabbit. The app aimed to drive engagement during China's most significant cultural and commercial holiday by enabling consumers to create and share personalized, festive content with social networks and loved ones.

Solution

Fill the Sky was a free iPhone app that used the device's camera to overlay virtual fireworks and animated rabbit-shaped sparklers onto real-world scenes. Users could customize photos with personalized text greetings in Chinese or English, apply various colors and fonts, then share the festive content via email, Weibo (China's major social network), or other social platforms. The app was developed by Executive Creative Director Doug Schiff and Ogilvy Digital Lab Director Sascha Engel.

Results

The app was downloaded and used throughout China and unexpectedly spread to other Chinese-populated regions including Singapore and Hong Kong. It received coverage from major international media outlets including Wall Street Journal, NBC, and Reuters. The app appeared on numerous 'top app' and 'top Chinese New Year app' lists for 2011 and won an award at Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity.