Rising Stars: Turning the losers into winners

Client: Pringles

Gaming culture had become seriously exclusionary, casual gamers were getting crushed and feeling frustrated, while Pringles had only been speaking to the hardcore crowd. The challenge was creating an authentic gaming experience that would resonate across multiple European markets without losing gaming credibility.

The breakthrough insight revealed gaming's dirty secret: what should be the ultimate fun escape had become a frustration factory. The lightbulb moment came from flipping the question: instead of "How do we sponsor gaming?", they asked "How do we make gaming ridiculously fun for everyone?"

Enter "Rising Stars"—a gaming tournament that broke all rules. Pro gamers would be deliberately sabotaged with hilarious challenges voted on by viewers, giving everyday players genuine shots at glory. This concept was impossible without combining three distinct superpowers: gaming credibility (Pringles), cutting-edge technology and multi-platform reach (Yahoo), plus flawless multi-market execution expertise (Carat).

The execution demanded serious technical wizardry: interactive voting systems running real-time across multiple platforms, broadcast-quality live-streaming, and custom Fortnite maps requiring genuine gaming development expertise. Yahoo's XR studio became the playground for multiple epic live-streamed events.

Results proved the collaboration's power: significant increase in gaming brand leadership status, extended engagement times, massive reach, substantial active participation, and strong purchase intent uplift. The collaboration model is now being scaled for future gaming initiatives, proving its commercial viability and strategic value.