Who cares?

The Swedish Armed Forces needed to recruit young people to an occupation that in many ways requires you to give up your own comfort in order to help others. To highlight this aspect ad agency DDB Stockholm created a digitally integrated event in Stockholm to see how far people were willing to go for one another.

For this unusual and gutsy social marketing experiment, a person agreed to sit in a small boxed room and give up his freedom. The whole thing was then live-streamed over the internet and nobody via any social media channel could help him. The only way to help was to physically take his place yourself.

Would you have entered that room?

Interactive “Pick N’ Play” Billboard

DDB Stockholm has created another interactive outdoor campaign for McDonald’s Sweden called Pick N’ Play. This time they bring Pong-like fun into their latest interactive outdoor effort.

Passersby’s are invited to use their mobile phones as controllers to a fun and interactive challenge where they can play for their favorite McDonald’s treat. If they last for more than 30 seconds, they score a coupon earning them free fast food at a nearby McDonald’s.

Last year they had challenged pedestrians to take pictures of McDonald’s food to get it for free.

McDonald’s digital billboard game

Menu items bounce and fly through a digital billboard screen. If you are quick enough to capture one in a cell-phone picture, it is yours for free at the nearest McDonald’s.

The idea. Speed turns attention into reward

DDB Stockholm creates a clever and simple interactive billboard game for McDonald’s that turns a familiar format. The outdoor ad. Into a real-time challenge with a tangible payoff.

How it works. Capture the moment

  • Menu items animate across the billboard screen.
  • People try to “catch” an item by snapping it with their phone camera at the right moment.
  • The captured item becomes the proof that unlocks the free product at the nearest McDonald’s.

Why it works. A physical moment that feels earned

The mechanic is immediate and legible from a distance. It is also fair in a way people understand. If you are fast, you win. That converts passive viewing into active participation without asking anyone to download an app or learn a new interface.


A few fast answers before you act

What is McDonald’s digital billboard game?
An interactive billboard activation where animated menu items move across the screen and people try to capture one with a phone photo to win it.

What do you have to do to win?
Take a cell-phone picture fast enough to capture a flying menu item on the billboard.

What do you get if you succeed?
The captured item is redeemed for free at the nearest McDonald’s.

Who creates the activation?
DDB Stockholm.

What is the transferable pattern?
Turn a high-reach format into a simple, visible challenge. Then reward the behavior with an immediate, local redemption loop.