Jigsaw: Survive The Trap
View the case- Brand
- Lionsgate
- Year
- 2017
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Puzzle
- Platform
- Installation
- Agency
- UNIT9
Objective
Lionsgate built the room to launch "Jigsaw" in theaters and jolt the Saw franchise back to life after a seven-year gap. The escape-room boom gave them a way to reach the series' core horror fans while pulling in a younger crowd that had never seen the earlier films, all with the built-in press and influencer buzz of Comic Con.
Solution
Groups of four are led into a cramped chamber where a costumed Jigsaw figure and a VR sequence set the scene, then each player is chained by the wrist as Tobin Bell's voice lays out the rules. The four are split into two shackled pairs and sent into separate rooms, where every choice one pair makes changes what happens to the other. Each pair works through a run of mechanical traps, stunt effects, and jump scares on their own, racing a countdown clock. The two pairs are finally reunited for one last puzzle they have to crack together to escape before time runs out. Survivors walk away with a ticket to the film and an IMAX poster.
Results
Over 1,200 people went through the rooms across the four days of New York Comic Con, with lines running up to four hours. The campaign generated more than 16.14 million impressions across Saw's owned media and over 4.4 million organic impressions through influencers.
- 1
Ahead of the event, players register for a session on the promo site, which previews the escape-room experience waiting outside the convention hall; a parallel social hashtag campaign rewards a tweet with a custom emoji.
- 2
On site, groups of four wait in line, sometimes for hours, before entering a themed tent set up at the venue's main entrance.
- 3
The opening room immerses each player with a VR headset while a costumed character stands in the space, then chains the player's wrist to a partner, splitting the group of four into two linked pairs.
- 4
A prerecorded villain's voice lays out the rules and escape stakes, then a countdown timer starts and the door locks behind the group.
- 5
The two pairs are separated into different rooms and solve puzzles under time pressure; each pair's choices directly affect the unseen partner pair's fate.
- 6
Players move through a sequence of rooms mixing mechanical traps, practical effects, jump scares, and VR-based obstacles as the story progresses.
- 7
The two pairs are reunited for a final shared challenge that must be solved before time runs out to escape.
- 8
Survivors leave with a movie ticket and a limited-edition IMAX poster, and on select sessions the film's lead actor personally greets the group.
