Celebrating the Khmer New Year with the Pepsi sack race in Augmented Reality

Festivals are about joy, connection, and creating unforgettable experiences. For the Khmer New Year celebrations in Cambodia, Pepsi wanted to go beyond traditional advertising and bring audiences a fun, interactive, and culturally resonant digital experience. The result? A one-of-a-kind Augmented Reality (AR) game designed and deployed by AliveNow, where users could play a virtual sack race, a much-loved festive activity, right on their phones.

Through this AR experience (originally deployed for Meta, but since Meta deprecated their AR product, this experience can be deployed on TikTok or Snapchat as well), players could jump into the festive spirit by participating in a virtual sack race—without needing a physical sack or a large outdoor space. It was about merging tradition with innovation, making Pepsi’s campaign not just memorable, but also deeply relatable.

The Experience: Sack Race Meets Face Gestures

The AR experience developed by AliveNow gave users a simple yet delightful way to play. Using facial gesture recognition, players controlled their character’s movements by nodding, smiling, or tilting their heads—turning everyday expressions into playful controls.

• No app download required: The experience could be deployed seamlessly on popular platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and even WebAR.
• Highly engaging: Interactive gameplay kept users hooked while associating Pepsi with fun, energy, and celebration.
• Shareable moments: Players could easily record and share their gameplay, driving organic reach and participation.

The solution showcased how brands can blend tradition with cutting-edge technology to connect with audiences in ways that feel both authentic and exciting. By leveraging AR and innovative interaction mechanics, we helped Pepsi stand out during one of Cambodia’s biggest cultural moments.

Why This Campaign Worked

1. Cultural Relevance – By choosing the sack race, Pepsi rooted the experience in a game Cambodians love and recognize instantly.
2. Interactive Engagement – AR face gesture controls transformed the audience from passive viewers into active participants.
3. Scalable & Shareable – The campaign was platform-agnostic (TikTok, Snapchat, WebAR), ensuring maximum reach and discoverability.
4. Memorable Brand Association – Pepsi successfully positioned itself as a youthful, energetic, and culturally attuned brand.

The Bigger Picture: AR in Marketing

This Pepsi campaign highlights a larger trend: brands using AR to celebrate cultural moments in fun, interactive, and highly shareable ways. From festivals to product launches, AR is helping companies create experiences that go beyond advertising, fostering genuine engagement and emotional connection.

Pepsi’s Khmer New Year AR sack race campaign in Cambodia is a perfect example of how traditional celebrations and modern technology can come together to create magic. By combining a beloved cultural game with innovative AR face gesture controls, Pepsi brought joy, interactivity, and shareability to its audience—making the brand a key part of the festive season.