The Cycling Classic
View the case- Brand
- UrbanDaddy
- Year
- 2011
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Installation
- Agency
- Red Paper Heart
Objective
UrbanDaddy wanted its own physical draw at the 2011 Escape to New York festival — something that put guests head-to-head instead of just staffing a branded booth.
Solution
Two riders sit side by side on stationary bikes facing a giant projection and pick who they're racing — a friend, a rival, or a total stranger. Once the 60-second clock starts, pedaling harder is the only input: the faster you go, the more the world on screen reacts, with particles rising off the ground and coalescing into creatures, new landscapes unlocking as your speed climbs, and the fastest riders breaking through into space. Whoever covers the most distance in 60 seconds wins, even though neither bike ever actually moves.
- 1
A festival guest at the UrbanDaddy installation finds two stationary bikes mounted on rollers side by side in front of a large projection screen, and is invited into a head-to-head duel against a friend, a rival, or a stranger.
- 2
The rule is announced before the race starts: each heat lasts 60 seconds, and whoever covers more distance in that time wins.
- 3
Pedaling drives the projected world: the animated landscape moves toward the rider at a pace that mirrors the speed of their legs, even though the bike itself never moves.
- 4
As a rider accelerates, particles of ground rise up and assemble into hybrid creatures called foxbears, whose intensity tracks the rider's own speed. Going faster unlocks further environments beyond the forest, including orbs, a safari, and a race track, and the fastest riders break through into space, the top tier reachable only at the highest speeds.
- 5
When the 60 seconds run out, the rider who traveled farther is declared the winner, and the next pair steps up to the bikes.
