The activation
Toyota staged the European press launch of its Urban Cruiser electric SUV as a mixed reality experience inside the Toyota Innovation Lab, a temporary installation built in the basement car park of The Hoxton in Florence at the end of 2025. Global creative agency VIRTUE, which had already produced the car's online "e-collection" launch, appointed immersive studio Draw & Code to carry the campaign into a hybrid physical-digital space for the visiting press corps.
How it worked
The centrepiece was FanPort, Draw & Code's patented mixed reality platform. It pairs a large shared display with see-through AR glasses so that "holographic" content moves seamlessly between the screen and the physical space, while networked immersive audio and real-time lighting turn the room into a shared multisensory environment rather than a solo headset session.
Up to 10 guests at a time entered through a networked mixed reality headset and moved along a digital-physical runway. They pointed at and interacted with information hotspots inside and outside a life-size holographic Urban Cruiser, rendered from Toyota's original Dassault Systèmes 3D model, then competed in movement-based mixed reality games. The journey then transitioned into the real world, with guests driving the Urban Cruiser on two routes through Florence.
Scale and recognition
More than 200 people passed through the 12-metre installation across the launch. Draw & Code and VIRTUE had first connected at the inaugural SXSW London, where Draw & Code showcased FanPort with support from the UK Department for Business and Trade. The activation went on to win Best Campaign at the 2026 Auggie Awards.
