Maybelline New York

Maybelline Press Play

An activation that turned a billboard into a game console.

MAYBELLINE NEW YORK · SEPTEMBER 2021

01 — Brief

Brief

The pandemic had put a pane of glass between us and the street. For Maybelline New York in autumn 2021, the question was clear: how do we invite people back outside — to step into the screen instead of just looking at it?

McCANN Istanbul's brief was simple: hit "play" on the life the pandemic had paused. Outdoor media was back, but still one-way — a billboard was watched, never played.

What was wanted wasn't an ad. It was a moment people would stop and play. An activation that would bring Maybelline closer to a new generation while driving real conversion at Watsons.

“The pandemic doesn't hand back the life it paused — you need a button to restart it.”

02 — Insight

Insight

Turkey has 30 million mobile gamers. 37% of them are 14–29. And 48% of all mobile games are played by women — Maybelline's core audience was already opening a game on their phone several times a day.

But that game was private, closed, individual. Being seen playing in public on a street where everyone could watch was a different thing entirely. At a moment when outdoor media was rebounding but still passive, turning a billboard into a game sat at the perfect intersection: gaming + outdoor + beauty.

03 — The Idea

The Idea

On Bağdat Avenue we turned two specially-selected billboards into game screens. A passerby scanned the QR code on the billboard with their phone — and the phone instantly became a controller. Buttons on the phone, game screen on the giant billboard.

The game ran on a tilt mechanic: the player tilted their phone, the character on the billboard moved, points climbed. After a few minutes of play, scores converted into a discount coupon valid at Watsons stores and online — up to 50% off. No paper. A digital coupon, straight to the phone.

The street stopped, the player played, the crowd watched — for the first time, the billboard was reacting not to a viewer, but to a player.

Instant QR Connection

No app to download. The player scanned the billboard's QR code and the game opened on their phone instantly — a frictionless start.

Phone = Controller

Buttons on the phone, the game on the big screen. With a tilt mechanic, the player tilted the phone and the billboard character moved.

Live Game on the Billboard

Two locations on Bağdat Avenue. While one player played, every passerby watched — a private mobile game became a street performance in seconds.

Score → Watsons Discount

At the end of the game, scores converted into a discount coupon — up to 50% off, valid at Watsons stores and online, dropped straight to the phone.

04 — Execution

Execution

"Let's turn the billboard into a game screen" is one sentence — building it is a different kind of engineering. We needed a low-latency control system, a web-based game engine that opened in any phone's browser without an app, a server that ran two locations in sync, and an infrastructure that produced a Watsons-integrated coupon the second a game ended.

Scope

QR-launched, WebGL-based tilt game engine
Low-latency live streaming to the billboards
On-site setup at two Bağdat Avenue locations — internet and power infrastructure
Backend that converted end-game score into a discount coupon
Integration with Watsons coupon system (in-store + online)
On-site staff: player guidance, technical support, daily operations

Team

Project Lead & Experience Design: Atilla Baybara
Technology Development: Utku Olcar
Operations: Yiğit Sarı
Client Relations: Şaban Yılmaz
+ On-site and technical install team

Outdoor Promo Game in Turkey

Bağdat Avenue Locations

%50

Up to Discount Coupon

Instant Start

05 — Results

Results

Turkey's first promotional game played through outdoor media — a category first
Measurable Watsons sales conversion — coupons generated at game end drove real in-store and online purchases
Organic street attention — while one player played, the crowd watched; every session became a small show on its own
Zero friction — no app to download, just QR; most players were in the game within 30 seconds of seeing the billboard
Brand experience at the young-female-mobile-gamer intersection — caught Maybelline's core audience both digitally and physically