Urinal Game
Read the story- Brand
- TELUS
- Year
- 2014
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Installation
- Agency
- TAXI
Objective
TELUS wasn't an official FIFA sponsor, so rather than pay for World Cup rights it looked for a way to hijack fan attention during the 2014 tournament for free. The stunt doubled as a demo of TELUS's 4G LTE network, with the ball's instant response to the player's stream playing on the double meaning of "live streaming." It targeted men watching matches in Toronto sports bars, pairing the game with a message about TELUS's pricing plans.
Solution
A screen mounted above the urinal sits in standard ad-loop mode until a player steps up, at which point it switches into a game. The urinal itself is fitted with a sensor that reads the direction and angle of the stream, which the player uses to aim shots at a goal defended by TELUS's cartoon panda mascot. Each visit plays out as a virtual penalty shootout: the player takes shot after shot, trying to beat the goalkeeper and rack up as many goals as possible. When the player steps away, the screen drops back into advertising mode until the next person walks up.
- 1
In sports bars during a World Cup match, a men's-room urinal has an HD screen mounted above it; the screen sits idle in ad mode until it senses someone approaching, then switches into game mode.
- 2
The screen shows a cartoon soccer pitch with a goal and a penalty-taker's target, defended by a panda goalkeeper modeled on the sponsoring telecom's regular ad mascot.
- 3
A sensor built into the urinal (fitted by a European manufacturer specially for the campaign) tracks the direction of the player's stream in place of a controller.
- 4
The player aims by shifting the stream left or right, setting the shot's angle for a virtual penalty-kick series aimed with the body rather than buttons.
- 5
The panda goalkeeper dives for each shot, either saving it or letting it in; goals scored tally up, and the player keeps shooting for as long as the visit at the urinal lasts.
- 6
The instant, no-lag response of the screen to the stream doubles as brand messaging for the sponsor's 4G LTE network, playing on a live-streaming pun, alongside a nearby price-match ad line.
