Tame The Tank
View the case- Brand
- Volkswagen
- Year
- 2010
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Automotive
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Tribal DDB Amsterdam
Objective
Volkswagen wanted Polo buyers to grasp how their own driving habits affect fuel economy — and to feel the car's efficiency rather than read about it in a spec sheet. The game turned that lesson into a dare: burning a full tank on the Amsterdam–Milan run should only happen if you drive badly, making every wasteful choice show up immediately as lost fuel.
Solution
You start in Amsterdam behind the wheel of a Polo, with one tank of fuel and Milan as the destination. The route unfolds across illustrated maps of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, drawn in the style of vintage 1960s tourist road charts, with separate day and night versions as the trip goes on. Along the way you pick up items scattered on the road — some help you, some cost you — and hit obstacles and decision points where the choice you make shows up instantly in your remaining fuel. A quiz screen breaks up the drive as well, testing what you know before you're allowed to keep going. There's no clock to beat: the only goal is to roll into Milan before the tank runs dry.
- 1
Players open the campaign page on Volkswagen's Dutch site and take on the challenge: drive a new Polo from Amsterdam to Milan on a single tank of fuel.
- 2
The route itself is the playing field: a hand-illustrated map of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, drawn in the style of an original 1960s European tourism chart.
- 3
Players steer the Polo along the route through a world rendered in 2D with some three-dimensional elements.
- 4
While driving, players gather items scattered along the road — some helpful, some harmful — hunting the good ones and dodging the bad.
- 5
The route throws up obstacles and decision points, and how players handle them determines whether the tank lasts the whole trip; reckless driving burns through the fuel faster.
- 6
At one point the drive gives way to a quiz screen, and players answer questions before the trip resumes.
- 7
The same route maps reappear in a night version, so part of the drive continues under night lighting.
- 8
The run ends on a results screen that reveals whether the single tank held out all the way to Milan.
- 9
The whole game runs in Dutch, built for the Dutch market only.
