Take a virtual tour of the autobahn on Facebook with Opel

For the average petrol-head, Germany’s autobahn sounds like heaven: no speed limits and miles of smooth highway. Now you can make that dream a virtual, albeit not entirely convincing, reality with the launch of Opel’s new Astra and Astra OPC.

The campaign for the launch of the new cars includes a racing game on Facebook called Wir Leben Autobahn, where users drive a virtual Opel Astra or Opel Astra OPC on a Google Maps version of the Autobahn. Participants are ranked and the top 50 fastest driving times will win an opportunity to test out their real world driving skills at the Opel Academy. Following that, the top two finishers will win a trip to the Nürburgring in Germany.

“It’s a fun and innovative concept that challenges a dedicated audience of gamers and grows overall interest in the new Opel models. To date we had over 2 100 visits to the game while 92% of visitors opened and viewed the new Opel Astra commercial,” says Ryan McManus, Executive Creator Director at NATIVE, the agency behind the campaign.

“The game is simple, yet appeals to a wide audience whilst giving people a sense of the Autobahn played out on Google Maps. We also introduced a colourful range of Germanic characters such as The Hof (David Hasselhof), barmaids, and ‘ze man in ze lederhosen’ that players encounter on the route.”

The Wir Leben Autobahn Game will continue for three months, after which the winners will be selected and the next stage of the competition will kick in.