The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2022–2023
Pringles paid a real person to be an NPC who restocks vending machines in a game
Pringles hired one fan as a paid NPC restocking its vending machines inside Train Sim World, drawing 42m impressions and lifting brand awareness 38%.
Pringles (Kellogg's) · Grey London
the move
Pringles wanted the attention of gamers who are 'seen it all' and notoriously hard to impress, and whose chips are, in its own analysis, perfectly designed for playing — less grease, less mess, more game.
Rather than a slice-of-run advert, Grey London created the world's first paid job inside a game. Working with Xbox and Dovetail Games' Train Sim World, it offered $25k to a real person to become a non-playable character whose role is restocking Pringles vending machines — 'you had to be human to apply' — and used the resulting restocked-in-game rages from other NPCs to promote the offer.
It blurred the border between a game and a job, and the winner was transformed into an NPC live on Twitch. Over 42 million impressions, 2.8 million minutes watched, 528,000 viewers and a 38% lift in brand awareness followed.
why it works
- The 'job' was genuinely funny and human, so it was shared rather than skipped.
- By placing the task inside the game, the message didn't interrupt play — it became part of it.
- The 'you had to be human' twist poked at a culture anxious about AI, which made it timely.
- The live transformation of a real person made the campaign an event, not an ad.
what transfers
To reach people who skip ads, stop making ads — make an opportunity they'd actually apply to. A job, prize or responsibility inside their world beats an interruption in it.
what came after
'Pringles NPC' won the One Show Gold in Innovation in Branded Entertainment (2023) and Caples recognition, and became a reference for reaching gaming audiences through an offer inside the world rather than an ad in front of it — later called 'the first paid job in a game'.
references
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