5X Mutant Gum: 5 Gum Campaign Overview

Homepage
The homepage was a hybrid HTML/Flash page to allow the Facebook “Like” box and a HTML based log-in system. It also allowed for a faster load.

Create
When users created a mutant they could choose from 3 different body types. This tripled the artwork requirements but allowed a much greater variety of mutants and appealed to the female* audience.

* Also guys like to dress up female mutants ;)

Create Options
13 different customisation categories were available with just under 400 options for each body type.

A selection was unlocked for every new user initially, while exclusive items could be purchased using credits (earned via code entry and battles) or by entering codes only.

As the art options were controlled there was no need for moderation of the created mutants. So every new creation could go online instantly.

Battle System
Users could battle other people in a slightly tweaked version of Rock Paper Scissors. It was simple to play, intuitive and quick to deliver in-game feedback.

The battles were played out asynchronously, to ensure our young audience would get the instant gratification they crave.

Players battled to upgrade their mutant and unlock further options for customisation.

Mutant Stats
During creation, players could give additional stats to their mutant including an allegiance to Professor X or Magneto - the two warring characters at the centre of the X-Men: First Class storyline.

Gallery
Users could also compare their mutants on the leader board. Popularity was based on “Likes" and was used as an additional prize system and a way to encourage users to share their mutants with friends.

Leaderboard
Users can also compare themselves on the leader board. Popularity was based on "likes" and was used as an addition prize system and a way to encourage users to share their mutants with friends.

Mutant Profile
Each mutant had a HTML profile page to allow easy sharing and access via mobile devices. A Facebook "like" box was added to each page as the "Popularity" entry mechanic.

Users could also download their image in a variety of formats including desktop, avatar and Facebook profile sizes.

TVC/Cinema We created a TV & Cinema ad to introduce the new ‘Mutant’ flavour and drive interest in the campaign. The artwork, FX and sound design were designed from scratch with X-Men film footage integrated in. View original Youtube video here
MTV Mutant of the Week MTV Mutants of the Week promos were produced with a popular VJ and run during the campaign to support the online media buy.
The 5X Gum In a 5 Gum first a custom flavour varient was created for a campaign instead of the other way around. The decision to keep the flavour a mystery and call it "Mutant" only helped drive sales. Based on the success of this campaign, 5 Gum are now putting unique codes in all their packs to leverage future promotions.
Rich Media Banners A series of rich media banners were used to fill the odd shaped holes in web site designs.
Digital Outdoor Digital displays in cinemas gave additional frequency to the campaign and provided another call to action in an environment where the gum would be consumed.
Trade/Retail VIP Invites Personalised mutant invites that used an actual photo of the recipients were created for a retail partners VIP screening of the film.
Facebook Landing Tab New users landed on a custom tab while existing 5 Gum fans were directed there via a series of posts and targeted ads. The profile image and top images were also changed for the promotion period.
Facebook Conversation The Facebook conversation was kept fresh by introducing mutant "DOs and DON'Ts", "THIS or THATs" and celebrity inspired mutants over the 9 week campaign. These "celeb mutants" were also supplied to media partners (MTV and UFC) as content. We also announced the weekly winners of Most Popular (i.e. most “Liked”) and "Most creative" (Editor’s choice).	« Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »
Facebook Fans The fans really got into the promotion flooding the page with requests for "Like for Likes". If only the kids realised they were just helping their competition... This continued solidly for the entire campaign.
Artwork All the artwork on the site was custom created. Over 4,000 items were designed across 3 body types and 6 difference races. This allowed for 205,512,052,909,363,200 unique combinations. Phew! Most items were sketched, approved then colored. Keeping consistency and allowing all the items to work together across multiple layers was another challenge.	« Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next »
Permutations Ohh pretty
Image Optimization Nerd-out Warning: The following is meant for developer nerds only. Please skip otherwise. To reduce file size we created a new image format (JPNG) processed through a custom Adobe AIR app. We compressed the RGB colors and Alpha channel separately; cropped any empty space and kept the pixel offset in the file, as meta data, to be read later by the decoder. The result was 85%+ better file compression compared to standard PNGs, with little visible loss in quality.
3D Mesh R&D One idea we failed to complete was a 3D warp mesh to make the mutants feel "alive". Click the image on the right for an interactive prototype. The idea was abandoned to ensure the project was delivered on time and didn't kill the CPU. Note: this demo is much better than the first test.
Visual FX In addition to static art we also created a series of visual FX that enhanced the site and carried across the 5 Gum polish. Click here for a test file of all the FX.
Not approved Not everything we did was approved. Weapons were knocked back, rightly, for being off brand. Still they look cool and now someone can see them. And some hair styles were just a little too crazy.... even for mutants.	« Prev 1 2 Next »
Awesome judges? Thanks for scrolling down this far.