Gucci puts gaming twist to #ForeverGuilty campaign with branded island on Animal Crossing

Gucci has launched its own virtual island on popular Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons to promote its #ForeverGuilty campaign film and scent. Featuring the brand's distinct aesthetic, Gucci's Animal Crossing island replicates scenes from its campaign film, and features the scent of its fragrance. The island also houses a series of mini games and takeaway items, according to Gucci. 

Gucci worked with three content creators of the Animal Crossing community, namely LexPlay, KangGaming and Canton.Crossing, to design the island. In a walk-through tutorial by LexPlay, the island is seen to have three key venues that were also featured in Gucci's campaign film: a supermarket, laundromat, and a hair salon. Besides that, the island also spots an orchard zone consisting of ingredients representing the #ForeverGuilty fragrance’s key olfactive notes: mandarin, lilac and patchouli.

To promote the launch of the island, virtual YouTube tours were first released by both LexPlay and KangGaming that showed the numerous possibilities players have, as well as sharing a glimpse into the project’s development. Following that, a live-streaming session with KangGaming also took place on Twitch to show viewers how to play the mini games together with other users. Gucci declined to comment on MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's queries. 

The Gucci island also featured a paparazzi zone for players to take pictures in front of, as well as tiger and ostriches (which appeared in Gucci's campaign film) roaming around. Additionally, there is a series of mini games that users can participate in, such as musical chairs, a fashion show and an obstacle course. A selection of takeaway items that users can take back to their own games is also included on the island. This includes a Jared Leto outfit, a perfume shelf filled with the scents, a tiger poster reminiscent of the fearless creature in the film, and a picnic blanket that is a recreation of a real Gucci throw blanket. The interior of the resident representative's house on the island is also modelled after the Gucci garden and the Gucci store. 

Here is the original #ForeverGuilty campaign film that the Gucci island on Animal Crossing was inspired from:

Gucci is not the first brand to launch a branded destination on the Animal Crossing platform. Last year, during the circuit breaker period in Singapore, Sentosa Development Corporation launched its own version of Sentosa Crossing, which was a digital reimagination of Sentosa island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The launch marked the first Animal Crossing: New Horizons island getaway to be developed by a Singapore brand, according to Sentosa then. Sentosa even used the island to help a couple host a virtual wedding celebration, since the couple had to postpone their actual wedding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsequently, Sunkist created its own Sunkist Island to encourage players from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan to enjoy its Valencia oranges in a variety of ways. Sunkist's island included scavenger hunts for citrus-themed items such as an umbrella, clock or rug and golden tools for users to “grow” their own oranges. Additionally, Sunkist designed four fashionable clothing items and 15 collectable artworks that the brand made available for download on its websites. 

Released in March 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has gained popularity globally with players escaping to their own virtual paradise, transforming “uninhabited islands” into getaways that their families and friends can also “visit”.

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