Stop The Irrito
- Brand
- Schick
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Product Launch
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- Comwerks
Objective
Schick was rolling out its Shave Guard foam and gel line across Asia-Pacific and South Africa, markets where demand for shaving foam ran low, so the brand needed to make the case for the product's anti-irritation benefit to young men who didn't see the point of it. To build awareness and give the new range a digital presence, Schick invented a villain, Irrito, as the face of the skin irritation the product was made to stop.
Solution
Players first land on a full-screen teaser site that scrolls endlessly through Irrito's antics, daring them to hunt him down, then hands them off to a hidden-object game inside Schick's local Facebook page. The scene is a packed beach rock concert, and the job is to spot Irrito hiding somewhere in the crowd of fans. Players scan the scene, tap an on-screen hint if they're stuck, and click Irrito the instant they find him to close out the round. Finishing a search prompts players to share their result with friends, pulling them into the same hunt. In South Africa, the same hidden-object game was also playable as a standalone site outside Facebook.
Results
Schick's Facebook page saw 200% more Likes and a 600% increase in active users after the hidden-object game launched. The follow-up video wave drove over 1,147,400 video views, more than 1,200 new Facebook likes within two weeks, and over 6,000 unique visitors to the microsite.
- 1
The teaser domain redirects to a market-specific landing page for Schick Shave Guard, opening on the line "Irrito's on the run!" and challenging the visitor to find Irrito before he finds their friends. Scrolling down reveals an illustrated panel in three stages, each triggered by a "Click!" prompt, ending on the beach scene where the game itself later takes place.
- 2
A button on the page leads to a Facebook app for the local Schick page, which opens on a home screen showcasing the character before a "How to Play" screen explains the rules.
- 3
The game itself is a hidden-object search across a single full-screen illustration of a beach concert crowd: Irrito hides behind a different character at any given moment, and the player scans and clicks through the scene to spot him, aided by a hint that narrows down where to look.
- 4
Finding Irrito ends the session with a prompt to share the result with friends in a joking way that casts them as Irrito's next targets; the campaign also awarded prizes to players.
- 5
In South Africa the same search game also ran as a standalone Flash title on a separate URL, showing a "Stop the Irrito" placeholder screen to visitors without Flash Player installed.
- 6
A later version of the microsite opens on a different scene: a closed shower curtain with Irrito's shadow visible behind it, cueing the visitor to click.
- 7
Clicking the curtain draws it open onto a bathroom scene with a video panel and three clickable thumbnails; selecting one loads a market-specific comedic video ("The Gym," "The Dinner," "The Elevator").
- 8
A light switch in the scene can be flicked to darken the room, revealing hinting hands and an animated tap; clicking the tap sets off a disco gag — the background shifts, smoke and strobe lights turn on, and the hands start moving — until the switch is flicked back to restore the light.
- 9
A footer link opens a modal with local customer-care contact details, alongside a badge linking to the site's Awwwards Site of the Day recognition.
