Pitch perfection: GUT SaoPaulo scores Outdoor win
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 24
THE WINNER of the Outdoor Grand Prix for 2026 is Mercado Livre’s ‘Field Barcode’, entered by GUT Sao Paolo, Brazil. Outdoor Jury President Aaron Starkman, global chief creative officer, Rethink, praised the entry’s “wow” factor. “We see a lot of great case studies but at the end of day the thing that gets everyone excited is the idea, the single image that makes you go ‘wow’.”
A deceptively simple campaign, ‘Field Barcode’ grew out of e-commerce giant Mercado Livre’s naming rights deal with the iconic Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil — a venue used for many matches involving leading football teams.
The campaign saw the stadium’s pitch mowed in such a way that it resembled a huge barcode. Visible via any video platform, the scannable barcode unlocked exclusive 25% discounts — even if only captured partially or from awkward angles.
As a result, Mercado Livre generated 53,000 coupons and saw significant sales ($1.78m) both during the live match window and afterwards. Starkman said ‘Field Barcode’ was the kind of campaign that only came about when “the agency has such a good relationship with the client that they are able to attempt crazy things”.
The jury also awarded Gold Lions to seven entries from the UK, Canada, Spain, France, Australia, Italy/Brazil and the US/Brazil/Mexico. Recipients included Heinz, McDonald’s, De’Longhi, Back Market, MyCar, Coca-Cola and Heineken. “What we were looking for was attention-grabbing work that feels inevitable — that when you see it you think ‘of course that brand did that — that brand had to do that’.” Overall, Starkman said Outdoor remains a vibrant category.
“It’s more relevant than ever. It’s been here for thousands of years and will be around after the robots.”
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