CASE STUDY 08
THE DARK SIDE OF KIA
CLIENT
Cycle & Carriage
Kia
SERVICES
Digital Launch Campaign + On-ground Activation
YEAR
2018
THE CHALLENGE
In 2018, Kia prepared to launch the brand’s first-ever high-performance sports sedan. On paper, it easily blew continental cars in the same price bracket out of the water. The problem? Local brand perception was, frankly... abysmal. Singaporeans were badge-snobs, and a luxury price tag on a Kia badge was a massive psychological barrier.
THE IDEA
If the badge was the problem, we decided to lean into the contradiction. We positioned the Stinger not just as a new model, but as the most "un-Kia" Kia ever built.
The Hyde to Jekyll. The Batman to Bruce Wayne. We created The Dark Side of Kia, an evocative, shadow-draped campaign that turned the brand's traditional family-friendly image completely on its head.
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To build intense intrigue, we treated the launch like an exclusive underground event. We entirely gatekept the registration process. Users had to hunt for a hidden digital code ("GODARK") across our campaign touchpoints. Finding the code allowed them to unlock a hidden page on the Kia micro-site, granting them entry to the highly classified "Night of the Stinger" launch event.
We kicked off the campaign with a cinematic teaser video that dared the audience with a simple proposition: Everyone has a dark side. Are you ready to reveal yours? The film invited drivers to RSVP on our micro-site for a thrilling ride, but we treated the entire registration process like a classified operation.
For the lucky few who cracked the code, the live launch was anything but a standard showroom walkaround. We invited these strangers to experience the Stinger’s raw power firsthand through a psychological experiential stunt. Guests were strapped into the passenger seat for a joyride driven by a professional racer in complete pitch darkness. With their adrenaline spiking at breakneck speeds, we invited them to confess their own "dark side" into the void, under the illusion that no one else was listening.
(Except for us behind the glass, of course).