Mikado Resistance Test

You are doing your shopping in a mall, and you spot a giant Mikado dispenser. Above it, a message scrolls: “Une envie de Mikado ? Vous ne devriez pas…”. A free box is right there. The temptation is immediate. People hesitate for half a second, then they reach for it anyway.

The moment the “victim” takes the Mikado, reality shifts. In a beat, they “fall” into an absurd, high-stakes scene. A nightmare wedding. A robbery. A knife-throwing scenario. Six variations. Each one staged to make a single point feel physical: Mikado is hard to resist, even when you are warned not to.

The idea in one line

Turn “irresistible” from a claim into a public dilemma. Then prove it by watching people choose temptation in front of everyone.

What Buzzman builds for Mikado

This is a deliberately simple setup with a brutal logic loop:

Step 1. Offer the product for free, but add a warning

The dispenser invites you, then immediately tells you not to do it. That contradiction creates tension and curiosity in the exact moment of decision.

Step 2. Make the consequence entertaining, not moralizing

When the actor takes the box, they “drop” into a surreal scenario. The audience in the mall watches the fall. Then they watch the scene unfold. The humor is the proof mechanic.

Step 3. Extend it into a digital series with repeat value

The campaign runs as a set of videos with multiple protagonists and outcomes. The variety matters because it turns one stunt into a format.

Step 4. Make the viewer complicit

At the end of the video experience, you can choose who becomes the next “victim.” That interactive twist is not a gimmick. It reinforces the theme: you are part of the temptation chain.

Why it works

It turns a brand truth into a behavioral test

The campaign does not explain why Mikado is irresistible. It sets up a moment where resisting is the story.

The warning is the creative fuel

“You shouldn’t” is what makes people want to do it. The copy creates the tension. The action resolves it.

The audience reaction is the distribution engine

People do not only watch the “victim.” They watch the crowd. The social proof is built into the scene itself.

The deeper point

If you want a product attribute to stick, stop describing it. Build a situation where people demonstrate it for you. Especially when the attribute is emotional (irresistible, addictive, impossible to ignore), the most persuasive proof is behavior under temptation.


A few fast answers before you act

What is the core mechanic?

A public dispenser offers free Mikado while warning you not to take it. When someone does, the stunt flips into a staged “consequence” scenario that proves irresistibility.

Why multiple scenarios?

Because a single stunt becomes a repeatable content format. Six outcomes keep it watchable and shareable.

What is the role of interactivity?

Viewers can choose the next “victim” at the end of the video experience, extending participation beyond the mall moment.

What is the transferable pattern?

Design a public “temptation test” where the desired product truth is demonstrated through behavior, not explained through messaging.

What is the biggest risk?

If the consequence feels mean-spirited or unsafe, the tension flips from funny to uncomfortable. The stunt has to stay playful.

Coca-Cola: Chok Chok

Mobile and creative thinking can come together to create really compelling marketing campaigns. In this example, Coca-Cola Hong Kong created a “Chok Chok” mobile app that turned the viewer’s smartphone into a remote control for their TV ad.

To collect the Coca-Cola bottle caps that appeared on the TV screen, viewers had to swing their phones when the ad came on. Those who successfully managed to swing and collect were instantly rewarded with prizes that included cars, sports apparel, credit card spend value, travel coupons and movie tickets.

As a result the campaign was seen by 9 million people and the app got over 380,000 downloads.

For those wondering, the bottle cap collection was enabled through the audio signal of the ad, which triggered the application and synced the user’s motion with the ad. The accelerometer in the phone was also used to assess the quality of the motion. Together they were used to catch the bottle caps virtually.

However as far as I know, Honda in the UK was the first to pioneer this kind of an interactive TV ad, even though it did not receive results like Coca-Cola.

Why this works so well

  • Viewer control is the hook. The ad is not just watched. It is “played” through a simple physical action.
  • Timing creates urgency. You have to act when the ad is live, which turns media time into a moment of participation.
  • Feedback is immediate. You swing, you collect, you win. The loop is easy to understand and easy to repeat.

The reusable pattern

Start with a single, unmistakable behavior the viewer can do in one second. Then use a reliable synchronization trigger (here, the ad’s audio) and a sensor input (here, the accelerometer) to connect the phone action to what happens on screen.


A few fast answers before you act

What is Coca-Cola “Chok Chok”?

It is a Coca-Cola Hong Kong mobile app that synchronizes with a TV ad and lets viewers swing their phones to collect on-screen bottle caps for prizes.

How did the app sync with the TV ad?

The app used the audio signal of the ad as the trigger, then aligned the on-screen moments with the user’s motion so “collection” happened at the right time.

What role did the accelerometer play?

The accelerometer assessed the quality of the swinging motion, helping determine whether the viewer “caught” the bottle caps virtually.

What is the main takeaway for interactive TV and second-screen work?

Make participation effortless, tie it to a tight timing window, and reward the action immediately so the viewer feels impact in the moment.

Augmented toys and games from Toy Fair 2013

A Barbie vanity frame turns an iPad into a make-up mirror, then “virtual lipstick” stays aligned to a moving face in real time. That single mechanic explains why Toy Fair in New York suddenly feels like a preview of hybrid play, where the screen becomes a window and the physical object remains the star.

Most of the standout demos share the same blueprint. A physical toy, book, or playset provides the anchor. The iPad app provides the content layer. The camera feed stitches the two together so kids can touch, move, build, and explore while the digital layer reacts.

In consumer product innovation, the most scalable mixed reality experiences treat the device as a lens onto the room, not the destination.

Augmented reality (AR) toys are physical products that use a phone or tablet camera to overlay digital characters, effects, or instructions onto the real-world toy. The toy stays central. The app adds feedback, rules, and story without replacing hands-on play.

Why these “phygital” toys land

Parents get a familiar promise. Less passive viewing and more active play. Kids get something that feels like magic because it responds to the real world, not just taps on glass.

From a design perspective, the winning pattern is low-friction onboarding and immediate payoff. Put the device in the frame, scan the page, point at the ball, then something delightful happens fast.

The Toy Fair shortlist

Barbie Digital Makeover Mirror

Lets kids try out make up while avoiding all the mess. The iPad camera tracks a face in real time so the “makeover” sticks as the head moves.

Mattel Disney Princess Ultimate Dream Castle

Billed as a first mass-market doll house to support augmented reality, with app-triggered activities layered onto the physical rooms.

Popar 3D Books

A line of children’s books that use AR to make pages “come alive” with virtual 3D objects and animations that appear to pop off the paper.

Sphero Ball and Sharky the Beaver

Billed as the first app ever to let you take a virtual 3D character for a walk around your house. The physical ball becomes the anchor for an on-screen creature you “walk” around the room.

Imaginext Apptivity Fortress

Combines playset and app play in one, with the iPad physically inserted into the fortress so the device becomes part of the toy and the adventures unfold around it.

NeuroSky

Brain waves control furry ears.

Lego Mindstorms EV3

User-created robots that can be controlled by various sensors and smartphones.

Cubelets

Magnetic blocks that snap together to make an endless variety of robots with no programming and no wires. The “logic” is in how you combine the cubes.

Sifteo Cubes

A magical interactive game system built on the timeless play patterns of LEGO, building blocks, and domino tiles, but with screens and sensors inside each cube.

What to steal if you are designing interactive products

  • Make the physical object the controller. When hands are busy, attention stays in the room.
  • Design for instant delight. The first 10 seconds should prove the concept without instructions.
  • Use the camera as a sensor. Anchors, markers, and recognizable shapes are a simple bridge between atoms and pixels.
  • Plan for replay. New levels, new stories, and collectible content keep the “magic” from wearing off after day one.

A few fast answers before you act

What is an AR toy in simple terms?

An AR toy is a physical toy, book, or playset that becomes more interactive when viewed through a phone or tablet. The camera feed shows the real object, and the app overlays digital characters, effects, or instructions on top.

Do these experiences replace “screen time”?

Not really. They redirect it. The screen becomes a lens onto physical play, so the child is moving, building, and exploring while the digital layer reacts.

What is the most repeatable pattern across the examples?

A physical anchor plus an app-based content layer. The physical piece gives tactile play and structure. The app provides animation, rules, progression, and feedback.

What should a brand learn from this wave of toy innovation?

Interactivity scales when the physical product is useful on its own, and the digital layer adds meaning rather than acting as a required destination. The best experiences feel like an upgrade, not a dependency.

What is a common failure mode for “phygital” concepts?

Too much setup and too little payoff. If the experience needs long instructions, special lighting, or frequent recalibration, the magic breaks fast and replay drops.