Serena Williams' Match Point
- Brand
- Gatorade
- Year
- 2016
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- Ludomade
Objective
Gatorade wanted to celebrate Serena Williams's career at the exact moment she was chasing a record-tying 23rd Grand Slam singles title at the 2016 US Open. The brand's challenge was to show the scale of her achievements to a younger audience that hadn't watched her early wins live, without leaning on archival highlight reels. Snapchat put that audience directly in reach, so the ad unit itself had to become something worth spending time with rather than swiping past.
Solution
Players open the game with a swipe up from Gatorade's ad in ESPN's Discover channel on Snapchat, or by going straight to serenamatchpoint.com on phone or desktop. Each of 22 levels drops them into a match point from one of Serena's real Grand Slam singles wins, with the court, kit, hairstyle and victory celebration redrawn in 8-bit style to match that year. Play comes down to a single tap (or click) to serve and return, aiming left or right to win the point, and clearing a level unlocks the next. A win can be posted straight to the player's own Snapchat Story, and a 23rd level stayed locked until September 10, 2016 — the day of the US Open women's final.
Results
Sessions averaged over three minutes, 65 times Snapchat's typical engagement. The game drove more than 395 million impressions and over $16 million in earned media during the US Open, and 36% of players shared it on their own Snapchat Stories.
- 1
The game surfaces as an ad unit inside Snapchat's ESPN Discover channel, showing 8-bit Serena Williams; swiping up on it opens the game in place, without leaving Snapchat. It is also reachable directly at serenamatchpoint.com on mobile or desktop.
- 2
A title screen in 8-bit console style plays an 8-bit soundtrack, with a tap (or click on desktop) as the only prompt to begin.
- 3
Each level opens on the court of a specific Grand Slam tournament, with a pixel-art Serena wearing the outfit and hairstyle she actually had that year, starting with her first major title in 1999.
- 4
The player taps to serve, then taps the left or right side of the screen during the rally to return the ball to the corresponding side of the opponent's court; no other controls exist.
- 5
Missing a return costs a life; three misses end the run and the player restarts from the first level. Winning a rally the opponent can't return clears the level and plays Serena's real celebration gesture from that tournament.
- 6
Clearing a level unlocks the next one in chronological order, each set at a different major with its own court, outfit, and hairstyle, taking the player through all 22 of Serena's Grand Slam singles titles from 1999 to Wimbledon 2016.
- 7
A 23rd level is visible but locked, tied to a real-world outcome: it was set to unlock only if Serena won the 2016 US Open final.
- 8
Players can post their result directly to their own Snapchat Story.
