Pringles paid a real person to be an NPC who restocks vending machines in a game

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.

Make a real job out of a game

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.

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.

'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'.