Scirocco Cup AR Challenge

Background

VW was about to become the first car manufacturer to stage a series of racing events around China with professional drivers racing Sciroccos against each other. Called the Scirocco Cup China, the task was to build up excitement in the series and get motor racing enthusiasts to follow the races even if they couldn’t go to see them and get them to sign up to Scirocco Camp for updates and news.

Idea

A flap on the outside of car magazines took readers to a print ad about the Scirocco Cup 2010. The flap itself could be used as a steering wheel to use in an Augmented Reality race online at a website where they could choose from the seven different circuits on which the Scirocco Cup would really be contested. All the touch-points synched up, from the magazine insert to the ad to the AR game to help create a motivating and relevant experience.

Results

From these insertions came over 900,000 page views, 161,242 unique visitors and over 50,000 virtual racing drivers on the Scirocco Cup tracks. In addition, huge buzz over the racing game turned into over 52,000 people registering for the Scirocco Camp.

Our Thoughts

Hooray for an interesting press ad! At awards shows everywhere, the Press section is now the most disappointing, with almost every winner no more than a visual puzzle with the answer supplied in the bottom right-hand corner.

While Outdoor has been revolutionized by digital media so that a poster can now be an event (like Deadline Courier’s Exploding Poster - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb4yEa6l6I4&feature=related) or the conduit through to a brand experience, press advertising has taken its time to follow. This is a great example of how print can also be interactive and involving.