CAPYBARAPY

CAPYBARAPY

Hoegaarden · Category disruption · Brand experience

The Cannes-LIONS Arcade Game You Play By Stroking A Capybara's Bum.

Plenty of agencies claim a world-first. We're pretty sure no other game has had beer-drinkers stroking a capybara's bum. Shortlisted for Use of Humour in the Entertainment Lions for Gaming at Cannes Lions 2026, this campaign adopted a very hand’s-on approach for Hoegaarden…

Yup, we turned a capybara's bum into a joystick...

THE LOGIC

Our Challenge: China's beer category is wall-to-wall celebrity endorsements and high-energy party vibes. Hoegaarden is built on the opposite idea. It's about unwinding, and young drinkers worn down by workplace burnout and social pressure were ready for it. Shouting louder wasn't going to work, so we went quieter and weirder.

Our HERO Insight: China had already crowned the capybara the internet's unofficial zen master, and millions of people watch capybara videos just to calm down. A screen can only show you a capybara though. It can't give you the feeling of touching one.

THE LIGHTNING

The Idea

HERO dreamed up Capybarapy for our friends at McCann Shanghai, who brought it to life across Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu through November and December 2025. The centrepiece was a custom arcade machine controlled entirely by a hyper-realistic, furry capybara bum, with fur matched to real capybara density laid over pressure sensors.

To play, buy a Hoegaarden, then stroke the controller in time with the on-screen prompts to melt your stress away. So dumb. So fun. And exactly the kind of crazy that had queues forming around city blocks.

Limited-edition furry merch let people take the therapy home, subway escalators and 7-Eleven installations put it in front of commuters and a #Capybarapy social contest kept people sharing.

A shopper stroking a giant furry capybara bum at a Hoegaarden Capybarapy installation in a 7-Eleven store
Young people in China playing the Hoegaarden Capybarapy arcade machine, stroking its furry capybara bum controller
A crowd posing with capybara plush toys beside the Hoegaarden Capybarapy arcade machine
Limited-edition Hoegaarden Capybarapy capybara plush hugging a bottle of Hoegaarden
The full Hoegaarden Capybarapy arcade cabinet, shaped like a capybara with a furry bum controller
Two young women cuddling a Hoegaarden Capybarapy capybara plush at a bar

The Results

CANNES LIONS

Shortlisted for Use of Humour, 2026

1 OF 20

Shortlisted worldwide from 216 entries

3 CITIES

Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, with queues around the block

ONLY ONE

The only Australian-credited entry on the shortlist

ZERO CELEBS

No famous faces, just one very calm rodent

"A little unexpected, yes, but it delivers on our brand promise of relaxation."

Hoegaarden

  • A young man playing the Hoegaarden Capybarapy arcade machine in a bar

    ARCADE ACTIVATION

  • Limited-edition Hoegaarden Capybarapy capybara plush with a bottle of Hoegaarden and bar snacks

    LIMITED-EDITION MERCH

  • A group of friends holding Hoegaarden Capybarapy capybara plush toys on a city street

    CAPY FANS

  • A woman relaxing at home on a giant Hoegaarden Capybarapy capybara cushion

    TAKE-HOME THERAPY

  • Hoegaarden Capybarapy key visual showing the furry capybara arcade machine

    KEY VISUAL