The Illusion Factory Team – Zachary Sriro, James Pascual, Janelle Okamoto and the Mering Carson team – brought a whole new dimension – 3D in fact – to San Diego golf with results that were above par for the course.

 What was the brief of the San Diego Golf campaign?

To concept and produce online display ads promoting San Diego as a premier golf destination. Ads should grow awareness of the significant golf and resort offerings in San Diego’s North County.

 How was this particular game format chosen?

We wanted to give users an opportunity to engage with real golf courses in a fun and interactive way, while showcasing the beauty of each course. The game gives us this opportunity with lively game play that uses 3D renderings of actual San Diego courses: Torrey Pines Golf Course, Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa and Maderas Golf Club. It allows users to experience the golf destinations through the sunny outlook that encompasses San Diego.

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How did you come up with the creative idea?

The gameplay was designed to be familiar and easy to learn so that users could interact with the ad immediately. For “replayability”, we included three levels with increasing difficulty and leaderboards for top scores. Depending upon which video is loaded, the key icons fall faster or slower, and are varied across the levels.  We were able to accomplish the additional levels with very little increase in filesize by dynamically loading videos and using cue points to carry- gameplay data. The leaderboards give a competitive purpose to the ad, making the game more fun and more likely to be shared amongst friends (or rivals).

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What was the best part about working on this campaign?

Rich Media ads are powerful because of the ways you can use video to communicate the ad’s message. Instead of just playing a video highlighting each course, the user actually gets to see the course first-hand in a more entertaining way. The video not only acts as a vessel for the message, but is the message itself: playing the game is fun and you also learn what those courses look like. Finding new, creative ways to use video to execute engaging ads is always the best part about working on Rich Media ads.

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How is this campaign different than other campaigns you’ve worked on?

We have made games before using video as complimentary or supporting content, but this was the first time that video drove the gameplay itself. The ad required synching of dynamic elements, like the golf cart animation, score, keyboard cues, and gauges, with the video playback. Combining all of the elements was definitely challenging, but very rewarding.