You hold your hands up to the webcam, and the landscape changes. Peaks rise, valleys drop, and a Nissan SUV gets challenged to drive across whatever terrain you just “sculpted” in mid-air. It takes an off-roading mindset and translates it into a simple piece of viewer control. Build a route. See if the car can handle it.
That is the core idea behind Nissan’s “Create Your Terrain,” built by TBWA\RAAD to help launch Nissan’s SUV family in the Middle East. Instead of showing capability with another glossy montage, it invites off-roaders to invent the terrain first, then watch the vehicle conquer it.
Create Your Terrain uses webcam detection as the input method. In plain terms, the camera reads your gestures and turns them into a terrain editor, so you can shape dunes and obstacles without a mouse or controller.
In automotive marketing, the strongest digital launches turn enthusiast culture into an interaction loop, not a viewing moment.
The microsite (www.createyourterrain.com) was reported to have attracted thousands of user-made terrains, adding up to more than 80,000 square kilometres of created landscape. The build is also credited with recognition at Dubai Lynx 2011 (Bronze, Microsites & Websites) and a GEMAS Effies 2011 finalist placement (Automotive), which fits the ambition. Make the product story feel earned through play, not told through claims.
Why this mechanic fits off-roading
Off-roading is personal. Everyone has their own “perfect line,” their own idea of what counts as a challenge, and their own pride in tackling terrain others avoid. This activation borrows that psychology. The viewer creates the course, so the payoff feels like their test. Nissan just shows up to pass it.
What Nissan is really buying with “Create Your Terrain”
This is not only a tech demo. It is a positioning move. The message is that Nissan’s SUVs can handle anything, including terrain you have never seen before. And because the experience is interactive, it naturally increases dwell time, encourages sharing, and gives people a reason to return and try a “harder” build.
What to steal for your own interactive launch
- Let the audience create the challenge. Self-made tests feel more authentic than brand-made obstacles.
- Use input that matches the story. Gestures and a webcam make “hands-on terrain” feel physical, not like another web game.
- Keep the loop tight. Create. Challenge. Watch. Repeat. The shortest loop is the one people replay.
- Design for bragging rights. The shareable unit is not the ad. It is “my terrain” and “my result.”
A few fast answers before you act
What is “Create Your Terrain” in one sentence?
It is an interactive Nissan microsite where webcam-based gestures let viewers build a digital off-road landscape and then challenge a Nissan SUV to drive across it.
Why does viewer-created terrain matter?
Because it flips the usual launch pattern. Instead of the brand defining the challenge, the audience defines it. That increases personal investment and makes the capability story feel more credible.
What does “webcam detection” mean here?
It means the experience uses the camera feed to interpret basic gestures as inputs, turning the viewer’s hands into a simple controller for shaping the terrain.
What is the key takeaway for digital campaign design?
Build an interaction loop that mirrors real-world behaviour. When the mechanic matches the passion. In this case building and conquering terrain. people stay longer, replay more, and share more naturally.
What is a common failure mode for experiences like this?
Overcomplicating the first minute. If setup is fiddly, calibration is fragile, or the payoff is slow, people bounce before the “magic” lands.
