Musical Chairs
- Brand
- Thalys
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Automotive
- Mechanic
- Music & Rhythm
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- ROSAPARK
- With
- Resn
Objective
The campaign marked Thalys's 100-millionth passenger and needed a way to celebrate that milestone that felt playful rather than promotional. Built around Rosapark's "Bienvenue chez nous" campaign, the activation had to work across all four countries on the Thalys network — France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands — while building warm, positive associations with train travel. The goal was sustained engagement over several days, not a single visit, culminating in a live event.
Solution
The player opens the game in a desktop browser and listens as music plays over a row of chairs; when the track cuts out, they race to click an open chair before the timer or other players beat them to it. Three rounds of increasing difficulty follow, each one trimming the margin for error, and clearing all three is required to stay in contention for the grand prize. After the final round, the player answers a question that decides whether they advance to the finalist pool. The game could be replayed daily, and sharing a result on Facebook or Twitter earned extra chances to win. Selected finalists were then invited to a live event in Brussels, where the grand prize — a lifetime of free travel on Thalys — was awarded in person.
- 1
The player opens the Thalys Musical Chairs game in a browser, in a language matching one of the campaign's markets, and starts a round.
- 2
Music plays over a scene showing a set of chairs with fewer chairs than there are contenders.
- 3
When the music cuts out, the player clicks an empty chair as fast as possible; missing out means elimination.
- 4
Winning a round advances the player through three levels of musical chairs, each harder than the last.
- 5
After clearing all three levels, the player answers a contest question, which qualifies them for the finalist selection.
- 6
The player can improve their odds by sharing the game on Facebook and Twitter and by returning to play again each day.
- 7
Selected finalists travel to an offline final in Brussels to compete for the grand prize of a lifetime free seat on Thalys, alongside four runner-up prizes of weekend trips for two to Thalys destinations.
