On the quarter-mile track, SXSW attendees could choose among four different life-size go-karts – Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser – all featuring RFID technology.

So just like in the game, classic course icons like the banana peel or red turtle shell slowed down racers.

But this time, they could collect Pennzoil Power-Ups, increasing their karts’ speed and performance, making it easy to understand the benefits of Pennzoil PurePlus.

The karts were equipped with Go-Pro cameras, which broadcast live racing on track-side jumbo-screens and offered drivers personalized YouTube videos of their experience.

As an official sponsor, we canvassed SXSW with Pennzoil branding and drove huge buzz through paid media, social, search and PR, even inviting cultural influencers for a VIP experience.

Finally, we brought Mario Karting Reimagined to the masses with a showstopping integration on late-night TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, with sidekick Guillermo competing in a hilarious “Battle of the Marios” race!

Not only was Mario Karting Reimagined the star attraction at SXSW, but Pennzoil kicked off its biggest product launch ever!

Generated over 1b earned media impressions

Coverage included CNN, Fast Company, Wired, TMZ, Yahoo and Popular Science, with 90% of major cultural influencers writing about Pennzoil for the first time

$2m+ in comparative advertising value

$5m+ in PR value

53m Twitter impressions

72% higher volume of SXSW social conversation than next highest sponsor

Ranked as one of the biggest wins in SXSW history, next to Twitter launch

Most importantly, early sales results show Pennzoil PurePlus is flying off the shelves!