Overview
Toyota Tour de Paris is a mobile WebAR driving game that lets fans race Toyota vehicles through a miniaturised AR Paris, weaving past landmarks and Olympic venues. Designed with MKTG and Rock Paper Reality for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Trials, the experience ran in the mobile browser from a simple QR scan or link, working seamlessly on-site at events and at home while funnelling players into a sweepstakes to win a new Toyota.
The Brief
Toyota North America needed an interactive, data-driven activation to build excitement for the Paris 2024 Games, spotlight multiple 2024 focus vehicles and collect first-party data via a prize draw. The experience had to launch from event murals and floor decals at four U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Trials, but also function as a digital-first entry point from social, web and email—no app download, minimal friction.
The target was a younger, more diverse fanbase without alienating existing Toyota loyalists. Within that frame, our brief was to create a fast, intuitive WebAR game where players “drive” Toyota models through an AR Paris streetscape, feel Toyota’s connection to the Olympic and Paralympic movement, and then flow naturally into a sweepstakes form that captures clean, consented data at the moment of peak engagement.
Concept & Experience
I developed the core concept that became “Toyota Tour de Paris”, a timed WebAR driving challenge where each level showcases a different Toyota model and its strengths. Players place a miniaturised Paris racecourse on the floor or a tabletop, then steer a scaled Toyota through tight city streets, sand pits, chicanes and landmark zones on their way to an Olympic venue finish line.
Moment-to-moment gameplay is simple, tense and replayable. Users control the car with an on-screen joystick, racing against a visible countdown while collecting floating “medals” for bonus points. Crossing the stadium finish line freezes the timer, tallies their score and triggers a celebratory “Well done!” sequence before offering clear next steps: replay the same course, try another vehicle, or continue straight to the sweepstakes form.
The experience is wrapped in a clear campaign layer that works both in-venue and at home. A Toyota-branded welcome screen introduces the challenge, the Olympic partnership and the prize draw, then lets players pick which car to race first—perhaps a rugged truck on off-road terrain or a nimble sports car weaving through tighter streets. Throughout, Olympic venues, Paris landmarks and Toyota branding are treated as sculptural set pieces in the track, tying gameplay, sponsorship and storytelling into one coherent AR scene that runs seamlessly from a stadium QR code or a social ad link.
Storyboard and UX
Once the concept was approved, I turned it into a concise end-to-end storyboard that mapped every step of the journey: scanning a QR code, onboarding, car selection, AR placement, countdown, driving, scoring and sweepstakes entry. Each frame specified copy, UI states, gestures and how the mini-Paris track should sit in real space, so the full mobile WebAR flow was crystal clear before anyone started building.
That storyboard then became the master blueprint for production. After sign-off from Toyota and the agency, the studio team used it to create the final experience: 3D artists built the Paris landmarks and vehicles, UX and UI designers layered in campaign branding, and developers wired up the timers, controls and scoring system—staying tightly aligned to the original interaction design.
Outcome
The finished Toyota Tour de Paris activation launched as a multi-touchpoint campaign, running QR-driven at Trials venues, featured on Toyota’s Olympic microsites, and amplified across paid and organic social. From a single WebAR link, fans could jump seamlessly from murals, floor decals or Instagram ads into the game, race Toyota vehicles through a miniaturised Paris, and then flow straight into the sweepstakes without ever downloading an app.
The experience delivered what Toyota and MKTG were aiming for: meaningful dwell time with Toyota’s hero vehicles, a playful way to spotlight the brand’s role as Proud Partner of Team USA, and a game loop tuned for replayability and sharing. Beyond this specific campaign, the concept and storyboard established a reusable framework for future Toyota WebAR games—swappable vehicles, locations and prize mechanics that can be refreshed while keeping the same proven user journey and tech stack.
