Pringles x Mario Activation:

An Immersive Phygital Experience Powered by Unreal Engine

A Phygital Experience in Front of Saint-Lazare Station

For three intense days, from March 6 to 8, 2025, an immersive and interactive activation led by the agency Seven captivated over 2,000 people who came to try their luck and win exclusive Pringles prizes featuring Mario.

This ambitious challenge was taken on by the agency Seven, the commissioning party, and SoWhen?, who had already collaborated on successful in-store experiences (Citadium – Timberland, Lacoste Champs-Elysées…), with the support of LAB Productions.

The Objective: Activating the Pringles x Mario Partnership through an Immersive Experience

As part of the exceptional partnership between Pringles and Nintendo around the Mario license, the agency Seven aimed to offer an innovative, fun, and engaging activation at the heart of Paris, in a high-traffic location: Saint-Lazare Station. The strategic goal? To enhance brand visibility and highlight this collaboration while offering an original phygital experience accessible to all through an instant-win format.

The Challenges: Bringing Together Two Iconic Universes

Combining two major brands like Pringles and Nintendo requires a precise balance in leveraging their graphic identities and visual codes. The biggest challenge lay in creating an authentic and visually striking representation of these universes while ensuring an immediate visual impact and a simple, fast, and engaging game mechanic for the numerous commuters at the station. SoWhen? developed the entire application and content using Unreal Engine.

Our Mission: From Co-Design to Deployment of the Immersive Experience

An Application and Content Created with Unreal Engine

The phygital activation experience, designed in partnership with Agency Seven, the mastermind behind the operation, was a resounding success! Let’s take a closer look at its components and gameplay mechanics:
A giant Pringles can, serving as the main attraction, was set up in front of the station. Its playful and imposing design immediately drew in passersby, leading to queues of up to 45 minutes.
Inside, the experience was fully immersive: a setting true to the Mario universe featuring Luigi jumping on a giant Pringles tube, immersive interactive lighting, and, most importantly, an iconic floating cube inviting each participant to recreate Mario’s signature move. By punching the cube, participants triggered a digital prize draw displayed on a hidden screen, away from the curious eyes of those outside.

Each draw was accompanied by a “Mario-style” video revealing the participant’s prize. SoWhen? developed the entire dynamic application using Unreal Engine, integrating it with the physical cube’s hardware system, along with creating 2D content.
Excitement and surprise were guaranteed, with 637 winners walking away with Mario-themed mugs, water bottles, bucket hats, headphones, or even a 43-inch television.
To extend the activation, an Instagram contest was launched via a prominently displayed QR code, ensuring a digital continuation of the experience.
This operation was a massive success, far exceeding initial expectations, with over 2,000 enthusiastic visitors participating in just three days.

Unreal Engine at the Core of This Playful Project

At SoWhen?, we have been using Unreal Engine since 2014 to design and bring our interactive experiences to life. This real-time 3D rendering engine meets all our needs, even the most unique ones.

The Pringles x Mario experience is a perfect example: here, a tool traditionally used for complex 3D rendering was leveraged to create a dynamic and immersive phygital experience.

Yet another testament to the flexibility and limitless possibilities offered by Unreal Engine.

Experiences that combine creativity and technological innovation in the service of meaning

Discover other projects

PROJECTS

Would you like a quote?
Tell us about your projects? Receive more information?
Grab a coffee?

JOBS

Love the startup mindset? Do you thrive around creativity, thoroughness and sharing? For information on internships, permanent positions or assignments…

SoWhen?

69-71 rue de la Fraternité
93100 MONTREUIL
FRANCE
Terms of Use

About Us

SoWhen?
The Team
Jobs
Our R&D lab

What we offer

The SoWhen? Experience
Virtual Studio
Kits
Originals

Projects

Productions
Our news
Awards
Blog