How Movistar and VML Mexico gamified an urgent warning on criminal grooming

Mexico is facing an urgent crisis. Recruitment by organized crime has shifted from the streets to the screens, with controllers and keyboards as the new entry points.

For mobile operator Movistar Telecom, this was a trend it couldn’t ignore. 40% of its business is in gaming, so it sees it as a brand responsibility to address a growing problem affecting one of its primary audiences.

“The inspiration came from a simple but terrifying truth,” says Luis Madruga Enriquez, chief creative officer LATAM at VML Mexico. “For millions of young people, the screen is no longer a game; it is a hunting ground.”

The creative team knew subtlety wouldn’t work. If parents and wider society were going to listen, the warning had to come in the very language young people use every day: gaming.

“That’s where the spark came from, turning the medium of escape into the mirror of reality,” adds Enriquez. “Movistar and VML Mexico understood that silence was not an option; the danger is growing daily, so our responsibility was to act decisively now.”

If advertising has to live where people live, then for young audiences, that place is inside games. To create credibility, the team went all in on gaming’s visual grammar, casting non-playable characters, simulating lags and shooting from a first-person perspective.

“Creating a game-like film was no gimmick. It was the only credible way to enter their world. The difficulty was enormous: casting NPCs, simulating lags, shooting in POV... it was a technical feat,” Enriquez admits. “But craft, when married to conviction, always finds a way.”

The result was a campaign that appeared to be a game until the illusion collapsed, forcing viewers to confront the real danger behind the screen.

The film quickly moved beyond advertising metrics. Parents began conversations they had avoided. Schools adopted the work as an educational tool. The press reframed recruitment as a national crisis rather than isolated incidents.

And in tandem, Movistar’s brand perception shifted. It was no longer just a telecom provider, but a trusted protector. “Not a seller of minutes,” says Madruga Enriquez, “but a guardian of lives.”

The Ad Club’s Brave Brands honor celebrates relationships built on trust and shared purpose. For Movistar and VML Mexico, that partnership has been years in the making.

“The secret lies in years of building a partnership based on a shared mission,” Enriquez says. “Movistar and VML Mexico are not only united by creativity, but by a common goal, making digital spaces safer for young people. For years, we’ve worked side by side, turning that mission into concrete actions, from awareness campaigns to cultural interventions that push the conversation forward. The success comes from knowing that we are not just agency and client; we are allies in a fight that truly matters.”

What’s next?

For both brand and agency, the boundary-pushing won’t stop here. They plan to continue exploring gaming, digital culture and emerging technologies as platforms for purposeful work.

“The future is about responsibility. We will continue to create work that is not advertising disguised as purpose, but purpose expressed as advertising,” Enriquez explains. “Movistar and VML Mexico will keep pushing into uncharted territories, gaming, digital culture and technology. Always with the same north: if a brand has a voice, it must be used to protect, educate and inspire.”

Movistar and VML Mexico will be celebrated as one of The Ad Club NY’s Brave Brands for 2025 at a luncheon during Advertising Week New York. Find out more about the event and how to attend.