Project location: North Avenue Beach · Chicago, IL · Project context: 2021 · Prepared by POPUP from the project archive in October 2026.
On Chicago's lakefront, T-Mobile's network comparison became an ice cream encounter. A magenta truck, campaign menu and local ice cream gave beachgoers an approachable way into the message.
How can a mobile sampling experience make a message tangible?
T-Mobile’s editorial series compared its 5G coverage with everyday objects. At North Avenue Beach, the comparison became a choice guests could make at a real serving window, with the menu starting the conversation.
Turn the campaign’s network story into an approachable summer encounter through branded ice cream. Chicago’s Shawn Michelle’s grounded the experience in the city.
Turn the message into a menu
The truck brought the campaign’s playful comparison to the serving window. Choosing an ice cream became a way to encounter the campaign’s comparison through a simple, familiar action.
Give the idea a physical presence
The ordinary white vehicle became a magenta campaign environment, with messaging applied across its body and serving area. Original behind-the-build footage follows that transformation through graphic installation to the finished truck at the beach.
Make it easy to join the moment
The lakefront setting placed the truck alongside people already spending a summer day outdoors. The serving window and surrounding signage created a clear invitation, with the team managing a live sampling experience throughout the day.
Give the story a human scale
The finished photographs bring the idea back to people: colorful cones in hand, friends together and small moments by the truck. The campaign’s social edit preserves that same feeling, connecting the physical experience with a concise visual story.
The planning lesson
Translate the message into an action people already understand. The service window and menu should explain the invitation without a long pitch. Plan preparation, pickup and guest flow alongside the branded vehicle so the idea remains easy to join on site.
Who delivered the experience
POPUP supported the physical activation through truck preparation and deployment, on-site staffing and the guest experience. The run of show connected vehicle staging, ice cream pickup, team preparation, service and strike.
Commissioned through T-Mobile’s agency of record. Photography: Christian J. Surtz / SurtzMedia for T-Mobile; wide beach photograph: T-Mobile.
What the experience made possible
Branded ice cream and a local street setting translated T-Mobile’s campaign into something visitors could experience directly.
Project questions
Where did the experience take place?
T-Mobile: North Avenue Beach · Chicago, IL.
What was the delivery scope?
Mobile activation production; Vehicle deployment; On-site staffing; Sampling & guest experience.
Explore related work
Further reading
For the wider event and campaign context:
