Punchface
- Brand
- TNT
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- Y&R São Paulo
Objective
TNT Energy Drink was the UFC's official energy drink sponsor in Brazil and a backer of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2 on Rede Globo. The brand needed to turn that sponsorship into something fans could do, not just watch, and to build buzz for the show's 8 June 2013 finale by putting a ticket to it on the line.
Solution
The player opens the app on TNT's Facebook page and finds an interactive video of a fighter waiting to be hit. A code appears on screen; the player types it into their own phone to link it to the video, then holds the phone steady and throws their hardest punch into thin air — no tapping the screen. The phone's accelerometer clocks the swing, and the video answers in real time: the fighter takes the hit with a reaction sized to the punch, followed by a joke line scored to how hard the player swung. The strongest punches went into the running for a trip to the TUF Brasil 2 finale, and once the contest ended the app stayed live on the fan page as a free plaything.
- 1
Players find Punch Face on TNT Energy Drink's Facebook fan page and launch it there, in Portuguese or English.
- 2
The app displays a pairing code on the desktop screen, where an interactive video shows a fighter waiting to be hit; the player types that code into their own phone to link it to the video.
- 3
Holding the phone in a fist, the player throws a real punch into the air; the phone's motion sensor reads the force of the swing, and the fighter on screen takes a hit matched to that strength.
- 4
A result screen rates the punch and delivers a joke line written to match how hard it landed.
- 5
Punches fed a promotion: the strongest one recorded won a trip to the June 8, 2013 finale of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2 in Fortaleza.
- 6
After the finale the promotion closed, but the app stayed live on TNT's fan page for anyone who wanted to keep testing their punch.
