02/ — Brand & Marketing Strategy + Creative Strategy
Turning cinema into sport. EA SPORTS into fiction.
At a glance
Challenge
Promote the in-game integration of the F1 Movie and its fictional APXGP team exciting gamers and F1 followers about the content in F1 25 and the film.
Approach
Reframe EA SPORTS as a fictional team sponsor of APXGP, the underdogs of the season blending gameplay, storytelling and sports sponsorship tropes into a hybrid reality.
Impact
The story wasn't just told in theatres: it was playable, shareable, and deeply embedded in the game extending the F1 25 universe and building anticipation for the DLC.
Making fiction playable.
A Hollywood blockbuster was bringing a fictional team (APXGP) onto the real grid. The game had to make that story something you could drive.
F1 25 integrated the F1 Movie and its team into the game as exclusive content. The task: excite two audiences at once gamers who might discover the film, and film fans who might pick up the pad without the campaign feeling like a licensing exercise.
Fictional sponsorship.
EA SPORTS became a proud backer of a team that doesn't exist playing every sponsorship trope completely straight.
The campaign invited players to step into the cockpit, live the cinematic storyline, and relive dramatic race moments from the film through exclusive in-game content blurring the line between the season you watch and the one you play.
Teaser with an unreleased track
Dropped the APXGP teaser scored with an unreleased Ed Sheeran track from the film sparking buzz and igniting fan engagement before the reveal.
Stunt activations
Fake livery reveals and creator paddock visits treating the fictional team with the full theatre of a real one.
Sponsor-hype content
Branded content mimicking real sponsor announcement videos, positioning EA as APXGP's backer across in-game and web takeovers.
Real-world garages
At the 2025 Miami GP, fans visited the APXGP garage and jumped straight into the game; in London, the activation took over the Virgin Media Gamepad at The O2.
"The story wasn't just told in theatres. It was playable."
Fiction meets reality.
Anticipation built around the APXGP team and the F1 Movie DLC and EA SPORTS earned a unique sponsor identity inside a cinematic universe.
The campaign extended the F1 25 narrative universe while turning a movie moment into a marketing engine, driving DLC interest and fan engagement across gaming and film audiences.
EA SPORTS F1 25 - F1 MOVIE
Turning cinema into sport. EA SPORTS into fiction.
A movie moment transformed into a marketing engine—making EA SPORTS part of the F1 Movie universe to drive DLC sales and fan engagement
CHALLENGE
Making fiction playable
To promote the in-game integration of the F1 Movie & its fictional APXGP team. The goal was to excite gamers and F1 followers about the content in F1 25 & the film.
From screen to circuit
APPROACH
Blurring reality and fiction
Reframed EA SPORTS as a fictional team sponsor of APXGP, the underdogs of the season. The campaign invited players to step into the cockpit, live the cinematic storyline, and relive dramatic race moments from the film through exclusive in-game content.
The campaign blended gameplay, storytelling, and sports sponsorship tropes to create a hybrid reality:
- Stunt activations (e.g., fake livery reveals, creator paddock visits)
- Branded content mimicking real sponsor hype videos
- In-game and web page takeovers positioning EA as a proud APXGP backer
Teaser ahead of the reveal
EA SPORTS drops APXGP teaser with unreleased Ed Sheeran track from the F1 movie
sparking buzz, boosting reach, and igniting fan engagement.
EA SPORTS drops APXGP teaser with unreleased Ed Sheeran track from the F1 movie sparking buzz, boosting reach, and igniting fan engagement.
During the 2025 Miami GP, people were able to visit the APX GP garare & jump into the game.
Activation at the Virgin Media Gamepad at the O2 Arena, London UK.
OUTCOME
Fiction Meets Reality
The campaign blurred the lines between fiction and reality building anticipation around the APXGP team and the F1 Movie DLC.
It extended the F1 25 narrative universe while creating a unique sponsor identity for EA SPORTS within a cinematic context. The story wasn’t just told in theatres; it was playable, shareable, and deeply embedded in the game experience.
COMPANY
EA SPORTS
YEAR
2025
ROLE:
Brand & Marketing Strategy + Creative Strategy