Fanta Haunted Mansion

Kate Lynham

Fanta: Haunted Mansion

‘A joy to work on from start to finish, the level of craftsmanship in the 3D is outstanding.’

Kate Lynham, Creative Director, UNIT9

The background

Coca-Cola wanted to get more people engaged with their mobile app. So, just in time for Halloween, we designed and developed a virtual 3D experience for Fanta.

Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion

The execution

The Fanta Haunted Mansion was a virtual haunted house, available exclusively in the Coca-Cola app. It consisted of four dimly-lit, connected rooms—the hallway, kitchen, dining room, and orangery—where users could explore, solve mysteries, collect Fanta bottles, and interact with “jump scares” intended to spook them.

The 3D mansion was a beautiful cinematic experience with rich detail and stunning visuals. We prioritized visual richness from the start, and that meant going with a particular technical route of the pre-rendered spheres that could be explored in 360 but not traversed. Our 3D team went above and beyond to create incredible atmospheric spaces. We used PlayCanvas as our build platform, which allowed for easy testing and prototyping.

 

Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion

We developed the experience to be navigable without a single line of copy, so Coca-Cola app users around the world could all interact with the same haunted mansion. It posed an interesting UX and UI challenge; without the ability to give the user instructions or set up a narrative for the haunted house, it forced us to keep things exceptionally simple, resulting in a more compelling and immersive experience. With no copy, we also leaned into spooky audio effects, which made it feel even more immersive.

To boost the visibility of the Fanta Haunted Mansion, we also developed a Snapchat Lens experience. It followed the designs of the Haunted Mansion to ensure continuity and featured a Front camera Face Lens, and a Rear camera World Lens.

Fanta Haunted Mansion
Fanta Haunted Mansion

The results

Because the Fanta Haunted Mansion had no copy, it didn’t need to be translated to be experienced around the world—which is exactly what happened. We crafted an immersive, wordless story that was understood and enjoyed around the globe.

Fanta Haunted Mansion

Credits

Awards