You Vs.
- Brand
- Oakley
- Year
- 2011
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- + Rehabstudio
Objective
Oakley set out to build its first pan-European Facebook community and grow the fan base of the Oakley Europe page, wrapping the product story — adaptive lenses and customizable frames — around its roster of athletes. The campaign was billed as Oakley's largest digital investment in Europe to date, backed by a six-figure budget spanning production, community management, media and retail.
Solution
Players sign in with Facebook Connect, which pulls their name and profile photo — and their friends' — straight into the action. From there they watch POV race footage against a real Oakley athlete: cyclist Mark Cavendish in the first release, golfer Rory McIlroy in the second. At key moments the film stops and hands control to the player, who picks how to take a corner or when to kick for the finish line, and that choice steers how the race plays out. Before the race starts, players choose their lens; once it ends, they build their own pair of Oakley frames. Winners are entered into a draw for a real matchup against the athlete, and each release launched alongside the athlete's real event — Cavendish's during the Tour de France, McIlroy's after the Open.
Results
30,000 new fans on the Oakley Europe Facebook page, with the Mark Cavendish game generating 500,000 plays.
- 1
Players arrive from a banner, an athlete's social post, or above-the-line advertising and are invited to challenge an Oakley athlete head-to-head; access to the challenge is gated behind liking the Oakley Europe Facebook page.
- 2
The game launches through Facebook Connect, pulling in the player's name and profile photos so the experience is personalized from that point on.
- 3
Players pick a challenge, each hosted on its own campaign microsite: a cycling race against sprinter Mark Cavendish, or later a golf round against Rory McIlroy on Wentworth's West Course.
- 4
Before the race begins, players choose a pair of Oakley lenses as part of the pre-race setup.
- 5
The core experience is a first-person interactive film: the player rides alongside the athlete through footage of a real race, shot from the saddle.
- 6
At two scripted decision points the film pauses for a live choice — how to take an upcoming corner, then when to launch the finishing sprint — and each choice shapes the rest of the race, with a mistimed or overly aggressive move costing the sprint.
- 7
The player's own material is woven into the footage as it plays: in the cycling version the profile photo appears in Cavendish's hands and the player's name shows up on Oakley gear, the bike frame, and roadside billboards; in the golf version, photos of the player's Facebook friends appear on a fictional clubhouse honour board.
- 8
The run ends with a result against the athlete, decided by the choices made along the way.
- 9
The challenge closes on a customizer screen where players build their own pair of Oakley frames.
- 10
Winners of the online challenge are entered into a draw for a real-life meeting with the athlete, such as riding alongside Cavendish, with the first wave of entries open through July 31.
