Fold7 and Disney Wreck Brick Lane

Today (Friday 11 January), The Old Truman Brewery on London’s Brick Lane was transformed into 8-Bit Lane, an homage to classic 80’s video games.

The installation, which featured 8-bit pigeons, clouds, a taxi, tree and a leaking water pipe, was created by agency Fold7 to promote Disney’s Wreck-it-Ralph film, the story of an 80’s arcade game baddie who decides he’s had enough of his job smashing windows and goes in search of an occupation more meaningful.

For the next three days, the public will be able to eat ‘8-bit breakfasts’ and drink ‘8-bit pints’ in the pubs and cafes in the area, as well as play The Nicelanders, thanks to the first-ever Blip-able building. By downloading the Blipper app to a smartphone or tablet and pointing the camera at the building, which is covered with a huge banner, the platform-style game loads on the device and can be subsequently enjoyed.

Susie Bacon, head of engagement at Fold7 said the agency wanted to give Disney a “different take on how they can promote the film.” “We came up with the idea of creating this experiential stunt event where people can engage with the retro love and all things 8-bit. The film itself actually has all these characters in it from yesteryear. We wanted to bring back that vibe.”

Over the three days of its instalment, 8-Bit Lane will unveil itself to its visitors as they discover what else is in store.  The experiential approach was taken in the hopes of promoting social media engagement, so friends can share, Facebook, and Tweet to build a creative community for adults to reminisce on the video games of the 1980’s.

“The 8-bit idea is something that’s never really gone away, people love all things digital and gaming,” explained Bacon. “The gaming community is huge and they’re very eminently up to sharing things they are passionate about. So we knew that it was going to be something that people would want to pick up and be part of but we thought by doing something experiential, they can be in it and share it as well.”

8 Bit Lane will remain open until Sunday evening by The Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL. Wreck-It Ralph opens in UK cinemas on 8 February. Check out some pictures from the event here.