Wolverine Tokyo Fury
- Brand
- V Energy Drink
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Soap Creative Australia
Objective
V Energy needed a splash for its new V Graphite flavor in Australia's crowded energy-drink category, where the real competition was for young people's attention against movies and games, not just other cans. Partnering with 20th Century Fox around the release of The Wolverine let the brand borrow the film's pull and tie that online buzz back to real-world touchpoints — cinemas, store displays, and can sampling.
Solution
Tokyo Fury opens as a free browser platformer: you play Wolverine sprinting, jumping, sliding, and climbing across Tokyo rooftops, slashing through waves of ninjas. Pick Story mode for 15 levels against five enemy types, or drop into Endless or Survival for an open-ended run. Hidden V cans on each level fill a rage meter that triggers a temporary Fury mode with boosted attacks. Buying a limited-edition V can in stores adds a second layer — the code under the tab both enters a prize draw and unlocks stat upgrades for Wolverine back in the browser game. At a live activation on Melbourne's Federation Square, people stepped up wearing motion-tracked claws to fight animated ninjas in augmented reality; each match was filmed and handed back to the player, winners collected preview tickets and V cans, and queuers could pose for a personalized Wolverine movie poster.
Results
The campaign drew 4.4 million gameplays over its 8 weeks online. The Federation Square activation reached more than 75,000 people in 12 hours, during which participants defeated 38,659 ninjas, 4,250 V cans were given away, and 368 individual battles were recorded and given to players.
- 1
A loading screen introduces the game with the campaign's promotional branding before the Flash player launches it, reached either through the campaign's own site or a game portal.
- 2
From the main menu, players choose one of three modes: Story, Endless, or Survival.
- 3
In Story mode, players run the character across the rooftops of a night-time Tokyo in side-scrolling fashion, using arrow keys and dedicated buttons to move, jump, slide under obstacles, and climb walls while advancing through 15 levels.
- 4
Ninjas block the way — five distinct enemy types in Story mode — and players cut them down with claw strikes or block their incoming attacks.
- 5
Branded V-can pickups hidden through the levels fill a rage meter; once it's full, the character enters a temporary Fury mode with stronger attacks.
- 6
Endless mode drops the level structure for a non-stop run-and-fight, scoring how far the player can get.
- 7
Survival mode pits the player against unending waves of enemies, rewarding how long they can hold out.
- 8
Buying a limited-edition V can and entering the code found under it unlocks a prize-draw entry and a stat upgrade for the character in the online game.
- 9
Offline, at Melbourne's Federation Square, players step into an AR installation and fight digital ninjas with motion-tracked claw strikes, competing for movie preview tickets and V cans.
- 10
While queueing, players are photographed for a personalized movie poster posted to the brand's Facebook page, and their AR bout is filmed and uploaded to the brand's YouTube channel as a takeaway link.
