Niantic, the developer of the game alongside Nintendo, has appointed Wieden & Kennedy London to create "City celebrations", a series of digital out-of-home ads in London, New York and Tokyo.
Pokémon Go was launched in selected countries last July, including the UK on14 July, and achieved 7.5 million downloads in the US a week after its initial release. The viral popularity of the game helped Nintendo’s share price to spike by 65%.
Niantic said the ads celebrate the "top trainer cities". "Trainer" is the technical term for someone who plays Pokémon Go, so called because they catch and train the game's characters.
More than 32 million Pokémon have been "caught" in Tokyo as of yesterday, Niantic said, since the game’s launch, in addition to 17.5 million in London and 16 million in New York.
W&K London’s sister agency in Portland is handling the global media planning and buying for the campaign.
Iain Tait, executive creative director at W&K London, said: "We're thrilled to be working with Niantic. We're massive fans of their aim to inspire people to explore their environment through creative Real World games.
"Working on a constantly evolving gaming platform and experience like Pokémon Go is a dream come true."
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