Panda Express

web game, digital, social, influencer, experiential, direct

Shortlist - One Show

Finalist - Shorty Awards

Lunar New Year is traditionally a time where families come together and share good fortune; not just with red envelopes, but with customary lucky dishes. In 2022, Panda Express wanted to invite all guests, especially those unfamiliar with the holiday, to come together over a Panda Family Meal, filled with those same lucky dishes. To help achieve this, we developed an interactive 8-bit arcade game — the Good Fortune Arcade — packed with multiple engaging levels, cultural easter eggs, real life redemption codes and and an interactive way of learning about the meaning behind each lucky dish.

Press: Thrillist, Mashed, MediaPost, Little Black Book, ChewBoom, QSRWeb, BrandEating

The goal of the game was to chase down Nian — a mythological creature of the holiday — who has stolen your Panda Family Meal!. Playing as a running, jumping, somersaulting Panda, players must collect as many lucky dishes dropped along the way, with. the ability to earn digital high scores and IRL coupons. Each individual level featured unique easter eggs and centered on a different lucky dish.

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In stores across the world, guests would receive a custom red envelope. Inside would be one of these four collectible good fortune cards — each one educating around the meaning of each dish and offering delicious redemptions inside.

Some locations even brought the Good Fortune Arcade to life by re-skinning the storefront and making the game playable as a standup arcade game inside.

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Streamers and influencers starting playing the game, and it was even displayed on the biggest screen at Barclays Center during a Lakers x Nets matchup. In just a few weeks, over 400K players had led to over 500K coupons unlocked.

Role: CD

Team: Harper Biewen (AD), Bryce Pangman (CW), Cam Bell (Sr. AD), Evan Chiplock (Sr. CW), Amy Woo (Design Lead), Jorge Andrade (Exec Design Director), Brooke Horne (Producer)

Game Director: Adam Amaral, VTPro

Agency: The Many