Ogilvy South Africa has taken the Volkswagen Polo where its primary target is playing – the metaverse. The agency has created the first NFT-embedded campaign.

The hero commercial blurs the real and metaverse worlds. And to enchant its digitally enabled target audience the Game On campaign has a collection of specially designed NFTs, hidden inside its content, for fans to find through a digitally-led hunt on social media. The first to find the hidden treasures unlocked prizes in both the real and meta worlds. In parallel, the Polo was launched into the gaming space, with the Polo GTI featuring in the latest edition of Gran Turismo 7.

The collection of NFTs, dubbed the Mzansiverse, consisted of 100 unique NFTs. All were inspired by the streets of South Africa (Aka Mzansi). Hidden among the collection were 3 Golden NFTs which unlocked prizes designed to help fans level-up their own lives. These included Sony PS5 gaming consoles, alongside gifts from Superbalist, GetSmarter, and the Volkswagen Advanced Driving Academy.

Bridget Harpur, head of marketing for Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles, commented, “We’re very proud of this gamified and immersive campaign as it delivered unprecedented consumer impact, whilst propelling Volkswagen and its audience into a new world. It’s not just watchable, it’s playable. And it’s a great example of the intersections of engagement and entertainment.”

The campaign was directed by Sam Coleman from Patriot Films and brought to life by Polycat Animation studio, together in collaboration with the NFT consultancy, MetaLabsAfrica. The campaign film was shot over five nights and completed over six weeks of post-production, animation and CGI. To create an authentic cinematic gaming feel, a specialised team of drone pilots was used to shoot all of the aerial Polo footage.

Ogilvy South Africa, executive creative director, Camilla Clerke, stated, “In the age of ‘skip ad’ and adblockers, this innovative campaign has inspired thousands of consumers to not only watch our advertising, but to engage with it frame by frame by frame, for five consecutive days. While also turning their social feeds into free ad space for the new Volkswagen Polo, as they shared screenshots of the campaign.”