SnapSkate
View the case- Brand
- Coca-Cola
- Year
- 2017
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- Ogilvy
Objective
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was launching in Germany and needed to land with teens and twins right where they lived — Snapchat. The agency's own brief was blunt: teens skip anything that reads as an ad, so buying a Snapchat placement wasn't going to work. The fix was to make the platform's core gesture, swiping through a Story, the whole game, fronted by pro skater Denny Pham and influencer izzi rather than by media spend.
Solution
The player opens a Snapchat Story and watches pro skater Denny Pham head into an obstacle in a clip that runs just a few seconds. Tap the screen right before he wipes out, and the Story cuts to the next snap, where he clears the obstacle clean and rolls on; miss the timing and the tap does nothing, so you watch him fall. Chaining enough correct taps carries the player through a run of levels and settings, picking up Coke Coins and power-ups along the way, into a bonus stage and a finish line. There's no app or landing page to leave for — the whole game lives inside ordinary Story navigation — and reaching the end prompts players to leave their details for a shot at one of five pro skateboards.
Results
240,000 teens played over the game's three-day run (March 31–April 2, 2017), generating 7.5 million views and 8,000 cumulative hours of brand engagement, with a 76% completion rate from start to finish.
- 1
The player finds the game inside an Instagram— no, a Snapchat Story, on influencer izzi's account or Coca-Cola Germany's official channel, and opens it like any other story; there is nothing to install.
- 2
An opening snap explains the rule: watch the video and tap the screen at the right moment to help the skater.
- 3
Each level is a short vertical video of pro skater Denny Pham riding toward an obstacle, overlaid with a counter and a row of collectibles laid along his path. Left alone, the clip plays out to a fall; a well-timed tap functions like a normal story swipe, advancing to the next snap where Pham clears the obstacle, while a late or mistimed tap shows him wipe out.
- 4
Tap by tap, the player carries Pham through a chain of several dozen snaps spanning multiple levels and trick-themed worlds.
- 5
Along the way, players pick up Coke Coins and power-ups.
- 6
Players who keep clearing obstacles unlock a bonus level.
- 7
Reaching the end of the snap chain completes the game.
- 8
Finishers are invited to submit their details for a chance to win one of five professional skateboards.
