Dentsu Creative HK trolls gamers to promote outdoor adventure in new ‘Camp IRL’ campaign
In a bold move that transforms gaming frustration into brand celebration, Dentsu Creative Hong Kong has launched CAMP IRL (in real life) – a campaign that playfully trolls gamers while spotlighting High Peak’s outdoor gear with a clever twist of contradiction. By creating a smart crossover between digital culture and real-world adventure, the agency sparked engagement, conversation, and brand growth.
Gamers know the pain: you’re deep into a match, adrenaline pumping, and then—bam!—you’re ambushed by a “camper,” one of those players who hide in corners waiting to pounce. It’s a universal annoyance in the gaming world. But instead of ignoring it, Dentsu Creative Hong Kong leaned in—answering the silent prayers of frustrated players by eliminating in-game campers entirely.
Here’s the twist: High Peak, a brand built on selling tents, helped stop camping—not in the wild, of course, but in Fortnite. Dentsu Creative Hong Kong transformed High Peak’s real-world gear into hundreds of digitized campsites, strategically placed across the game’s most notorious camper hideouts. Each one came with a witty sign: “Don’t Camp Here. CAMP IRL.” The message was clear: stop hiding in-game, and start exploring the outdoors instead. The result was a camper-free battlefield— cleared of ambushes and repurposed as a playful stage for a message that nudged players to log off and head out.
The campaign was born from a shared insight between Dentsu Creative and High Peak: Gen Z is a generation of multi- hyphenates—gamers, creators, explorers—who fluidly move between digital and physical worlds. Traditionally, camping and outdoor gear have been associated with older demographics, but High Peak and Dentsu Creative saw an opportunity to shift that narrative. By tapping into gaming culture, they aimed to connect with a younger audience and reposition outdoor gear as something relevant, exciting, and accessible to the next generation of adventurers.
This wasn’t just a clever in-game stunt—it was a strategic pivot. With camping gear sales declining and outdoor brands struggling to stay relevant, High Peak turned its gaze indoors—to gamers. By leveraging a widely disliked gaming behavior and reimagining it as a playful brand moment, the campaign didn’t just entertain—it activated. Players were invited to capture their in-game CAMP IRL tents and share the moment on social media in exchange for High Peak purchase coupons. The campaign delivered measurable impact, driving a 126% surge in brand awareness and generating over 14.5 million in-game impressions. It’s clear proof that even digital natives can be inspired to explore the outdoors.
“We didn’t just want to endorse a brand or a game,” said Jeffry Gamble, Chief Creative Officer, Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong, Dentsu Creative. “We wanted to create something gamers would discover, laugh at, and share. It’s a campaign that lives where they live—inside the game—and speaks their language.”
“Gaming gives brands the ability to connect with people where they live, play, and form identity. But this isn’t about slapping logos into games — it’s about understanding the culture and co-creating value within it. The brands that win are the ones that see gaming not as a media buy, but as a cultural conversation. It’s no longer a side quest — it’s the main storyline,” added Brent Koning, EVP of Global Gaming, dentsu.
Credits
Agency: Dentsu Creative Hong Kong
Creative: Jeffry Gamble, Ken Lo, Alfred Tam, Sam Chow, Jenny Ho
Account Servicing: Simone Tam, Jan Lee, Jean Ng
Strategic Planning: Sammi Leung
