Flugtag Game
Read the story- Brand
- Red Bull
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- Web
Objective
Red Bull needed to move a limited-edition Flugtag 4-pack through grocery, mass, drug, convenience and dollar channels, so the game gave shoppers a reason to pick the pack off the shelf and turned the packaging itself into the doorway to a digital activation. It also offered a "last chance to fly" to the thousands who'd applied to pilot a real craft but weren't picked, keeping them engaged and talking on Facebook and Twitter in the run-up to the five National Flugtag events on September 21.
Solution
A shopper scans the QR code on the 4-pack, or texts a keyword to a shortcode and gets a link back, opening a browser game on phone, tablet or desktop — no app to install. Inside, they build a craft piece by piece: cockpit, propeller, wings, tail, then cosmetics like a mustache and beard, hats, neck gear and aviators, before dropping in their own photo or a Facebook picture to sit in the cockpit as pilot. They pick one of five host cities as a backdrop, launch the craft, and steer it past oncoming obstacles to stretch the flight as far as possible, with the real 207-foot U.S. record posted as the mark to beat. The run ends on a distance score the player can post to Facebook or Twitter, and entries were judged on distance and creativity for the chance to have their craft actually built and flown off a 30-foot platform over Lake Carolyn at the Dallas event.
- 1
A shopper spots the limited-edition Red Bull Flugtag 4-pack on the shelf, printed with a QR code and a short code that open the game either by scanning directly or by texting the keyword for a reply link — playable right there in a browser, on phone, tablet, or desktop, with no app to download.
- 2
The player either takes a default aircraft or builds one from scratch, choosing a cockpit, propeller, wings, and tail piece by piece, then adding cosmetic flair — mustaches, beards, hats, neck gear, aviator glasses — that factors into the creativity score.
- 3
The player uploads a personal photo or Facebook profile picture, which becomes the pilot's face in the cockpit, and picks one of five real Flugtag host cities — Chicago, Long Beach, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth, or Washington — as the backdrop.
- 4
Launched from the platform, the aircraft flies as far as it can while the player dodges city-themed obstacles coming at it, such as pizza, hot dogs, and bear heads in Chicago or surfboards, sharks, and beach balls in Long Beach.
- 5
The flight ends with a distance readout, measured against the real Flugtag US record of 207 feet, which the player can share to Facebook and Twitter alongside friends' results.
- 6
Each flight doubles as a contest entry judged on distance and creativity, with submissions accepted through August 25, 2013; the winning design is built full-size and flown from a 30-foot platform over Lake Carolyn at the Dallas/Fort Worth Flugtag event on September 21, 2013.
