Rooftop Racer
- Brand
- Coca-Cola
- Year
- 2008
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- CP+B
- With
- Hook
Objective
Coke Zero was headlining NASCAR's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July 2008, and wanted a way to carry that sponsorship visibility beyond the track. An online game let fans spend time with the brand on its own site, driving one of the race's actual competitors, and pass the challenge on to friends.
Solution
The player takes the wheel of NASCAR driver Elliott Sadler's car for a five-lap race on the Coke Zero promo site, using the arrow keys to accelerate and steer. A bottle of Coke Zero is balanced on the roof, and the whole game turns on keeping it there: holding position through traffic and fending off rivals to avoid a spill, while grabbing bonus points scattered around the track. Before racing, players can set which way the bottle leans off a turn — into it or away from it — from the instructions menu. A run ends when the car crosses the checkered flag or the bottle finally goes over, and players could challenge friends to beat their run.
- 1
The player enters the Coke Zero promo page and takes the wheel of a virtual car driven by real Coke Zero 400 racer Elliott Sadler, with the stated goal of reaching the checkered flag.
- 2
Before racing, the player can open an instructions menu and configure controls, including which direction the bottle on the car's roof slides relative to the steering input.
- 3
The five-lap race runs on arrow-key controls, which the player holds to accelerate the car and to steer it through the course.
- 4
A bottle of Coke Zero balanced on the roof is the central constraint: the player must drive without spilling it, framed as seeing how far they can get while keeping the bottle upright.
- 5
The player also contends with rival racers on the track, fending them off to stay in the race as long as possible.
- 6
Score accrues automatically the longer the player survives while keeping the car accelerating and the bottle balanced, and it can be topped up by finding hidden bonus points along the course.
- 7
A run ends either by crossing the checkered flag or by wiping out before reaching it.
- 8
After the race, the player can share the game and challenge friends to beat their run.
