Vans - Holiday
Gift Guide
Problem to solve
Drive engagement on Vans.com during the holiday season amid heavy ecommerce competition and seasonal marketing noise.
My Approach
This project launched the first in a series of annual Vans holiday video games that I art directed while also leading gameplay and creative direction. Inspired by the classic NES game Toobin’, the experience followed Steve Van Doren skateboarding through “Waffle-land,” collecting gifts while avoiding obstacles along the way.
The game was fully browser based, but the campaign extended into the physical world through five custom-built arcade cabinets installed in Vans flagship stores across the country. Players competed for high scores throughout the season, with the cabinets ultimately raffled off to Vans Family members at the end of the campaign.
My Role
I led the concept from initial idea through final execution. This included visual identity, logo design, gameplay direction, asset management, developer collaboration, sound design, music production, and the creative direction of the fully functional arcade cabinets themselves.
Creative Direction: Josh McLeod
Sound Design: Josh McLeod
Game Development: Nick Rickenbach
Production: Vannie Ly
Wafflin’
scored big…
The campaign became Vans’ most successful holiday engagement initiative ever - significantly increasing site traffic and conversion, as well as boosting awareness of the recently created Vans Family Rewards Program, and established a new benchmark for seasonal digital experiences at Vans.
Retail and Ecommerce Photography Direction
To extend the digital world of the campaign into the ecommerce experience, I also art directed the holiday product photography shoot. The goal was to blur the line between the game and the real world by physically recreating elements from “Wafflin’” as large-scale practical sets.
At the center of the shoot was a custom-built waffle house, surrounded by oversized breakfast-themed props and environments pulled directly from the game itself. Footwear and featured products were photographed within these miniature worlds, creating a cohesive visual language between the interactive campaign and the ecommerce experience.
I led the creative direction of the shoot from concept through execution, working closely with set builders, photographers, and stylists to ensure every detail felt playful, immersive, and unmistakably Vans.
At hallmark stores throughout the United States, we did full retail store takeovers with massive displays that included playable videogames.
