Tribal DDB Amsterdam launches ‘Hitchhike with a Like’, a new fully interactive online gaming experience for Volkswagen, featuring the third generation of the legendary Beetle car—21st century Beetle. The campaign, which has been produced in close collaboration with Facebook, is a true innovation in the field of social media gaming worldwide and launches across 10 markets.
The idea is to allow Facebook fans that ‘liked’ the game to virtually hitchhike to the greatest cities in Europe, getting picked up by different Beetle drivers each time. The game is accessible, easy to play and fun. Cities featured are carefully chosen hubs known for cultural and musical events, or considered design or architectural icons in Europe. There are 64 various characters driving 64 uniquely designed Beetle cars. Each of the 256 different rides bring surprising stories and outcomes, there are opportunities to earn extra points, unlock prizes and discover originally composed music tracks bringing the gaming experience to another level.
Music is a central part of this campaign taking a leading role in determining the ‘driving the spirit’ as each ride has its own soundtrack reflecting the characteristics of the of the Beetle driver. The game is intuitive, aiming at the short initial attention span of the user and requiring the best of play interaction design. Tribal DDB Amsterdam’s creative team has invested a lot of time into the development of the campaign. The result is a large amount of written content, exceptional copywriting with a high dose of humour, brilliant music background and top-notch design taking this game to the next level of social gaming experiences. Each and every detail of the game is carefully designed—even the ‘hitchhike/Facebook thumb’ takes on 5 different forms.
Photo: A snapshot from the ‘Hitchhike with a Like’ game
‘Hitchhike with a Like’ is a social media based and driven interactive experience giving you the liberty of directing the way of the game. To start, choose a destination city and then decide which character would like to be accompanied by. Every time a character offers you a ride, a short teaser about his trip appears. The game has 5 levels: you will start as a rookie, soon to become a hitchhiker and on to globetrotter, high roller and the hitchhike king. It is highly addictive—the game will leave you wanting more as you strive to become a better hitchhiker in order to win great prizes. More points equal better prizes from 16 different prize categories, including: a trip around Europe to visit music festivals with the 21 century Beetle, a Fender guitar, skateboards, and free music tracks.
“When playing the game you escape daily life and enter the wonderful world of freedom of ‘Hitchhike with a Like’. All Beetle drivers you meet have their own funny personality and an exciting story; from surf dude in a classic 60’s Bug, to a record producer in the modern 21st century Beetle. Where are they going, what brings them there and why? The only way to find out is by driving in their customised Beetle,” says Peter Hayden, Strategy Director Tribal DDB.