Mercado Livre turned a stadium pitch into a scannable barcode

Mercado Livre, Latin America's largest e-commerce platform, secured the naming rights to Pacaembu, one of São Paulo's most storied stadiums, as it reopened after renovation. Naming-rights deals are normally the most passive form of sponsorship available: the brand's name sits on a facade or a broadcast graphic for the length of the contract, seen but never acted on, valued in impressions rather than transactions.

The stadium's reopening game was a recreation of the 2012 Copa Libertadores final between Corinthians and Boca Juniors, broadcast live nationally. Agency Gut São Paulo was asked to make the sponsorship do more than sit on a sign — to give a one-off broadcast moment an actual commercial job.

Working with the grounds crew, Gut mowed the pitch's grass into a 104-metre functional barcode, laid out so it read correctly from every broadcast camera angle and every stadium seat. During the live match, anyone watching on TV or in the stands could point a phone camera at the field and a dedicated web app decoded the barcode into an instant discount code for Mercado Livre.

Mowed the pitch into a 104-metre barcode readable from every camera angle and seat, so viewers could scan the field during the match and get an instant discount code.

The pitch was the most-watched surface, so the barcode got constant exposure.

Mowing the grass made the barcode part of the game, not an interruption.

Robust engineering kept it scannable from any angle, ensuring reliability.

Scanning directly triggered a discount, collapsing attention into purchase.

Turn passive brand assets into functional interfaces that capture attention already engaged.

Over 53,000 coupons were reportedly redeemed and the campaign generated more than €1.5 million in sales, with traffic recorded from over 800 cities across Brazil. The work won the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026 — though as with any awarded campaign, the sales figures come from the brand's own case study rather than independently audited data.