• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, October 25, 2010

Interactive treasure hunts are taking the virtual world by storm, offering a wealth of great prizes, without the physical exertion. Last year, ASICS created an online scavenger hunt for select European bloggers, while earlier this year, Vodafone tapped15 bloggers in the Netherlands to create their own treasure hunts for readers to solve.

The latest brand to send users on a virtual chase is Sapporo beer.

Canadians were familiar with Sapporo's distinctively shaped can, but knew little of the brand's origin or brewing process.

Lollipop designed an online treasure hunt for Sapporo Beer that played off the brand's "Legendary Biru" campaign, created by Dentsu Canada.

Visitors to the site begin a journey though Japan's cultural heritage. The goal is to find 15 hidden scrolls, some telling the story of Sapporo beer and its brewing process.

Gamers are led throughout the site by a helpful character named "The Sage." Any Canadian who found all 15 scrolls was entered to win a trip to Japan.

Using Flash, the site moves scrolls vertically, a feat accomplished when Lollipop stitched together live action, computer graphics and matte paintings.

Live action footage was shot in Guangzhou, China by Sons and Daughters of Toronto. It took six weeks to design and buid the site.

"The idea for the look/feel and story of brewing came from Dentsu," says Michael Gramlow, creative director at Lollipop. "We came up with the idea of the 'sage' character to guide people through the site and tell them more about what makes Sapporo a unique/great beer."

Continues Gramlow: "The biggest challenge was working with the video and trying to make it as interactive as possible. This included building the scrolling navigation to move through the experience. The other challenge was figuring out where to hide the various scrolls. We wanted them hidden enough to be a challenge/engaging but not so hard to find that it makes the experience frustrating."