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The 'Tracking Bad Bunny' Campaign Takeaways:
- Bad Bunny’s campaign turned album promotion into a GPS-driven cultural tour of Puerto Rico with global fan engagement.
- DDB Latina Puerto Rico’s concept generated over 30 million interactions and $40M in earned media.
- Cannes Lions honored the campaign for its creativity, cultural impact, and innovative use of digital platforms.
Bad Bunny didn’t just drop a new album.
He turned his release into a digital journey across Puerto Rico that led fans on a GPS-based scavenger hunt, earning global buzz and Cannes Lions’ top prize in the Entertainment for Music category.
Created by DDB Latina Puerto Rico for Rimas Entertainment,“Tracking Bad Bunny” took an unconventional approach to reveal the tracklist of the Puerto Rican singer’s sixth album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”
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Instead of listing songs on Spotify, each track appeared as a set of coordinates.
Fans who searched them on Google Maps’ Street View uncovered the real song titles, hidden in everyday scenes across Puerto Rico.
Think spray-painted on walls, printed on storefronts, even scribbled on delivery trucks.
More than just a clever rollout, the campaign was a response to a political insult.
Following a moment in late 2024 when a Trump-aligned comedian called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage,” the campaign became a creative counterpoint that celebrated the country’s vibrancy and culture.
"It brought pride back not only to Puerto Ricans but to Latin America as a whole," said Entertainment Lions for Music jury president Seiya Matsumiya during the award announcement.
"It’s unique, it has a huge cultural impact, it pushes boundaries and it’s a statement.”
Baking music, tech, and Puerto Rican pride into the campaign proved to be a success.
The efforts racked up over 30 million interactions, more than $40 million in earned media, and drew attention from over 180 million fans in 61 countries.
Notably, it was also the most pre-saved Bad Bunny album to date on Spotify.
A One-of-a-Kind Scavenger Hunt
The experience unfolded entirely online but was rooted in real locations throughout Puerto Rico.
Each coordinate led fans to seemingly ordinary places that revealed the names of songs in the background.
This multimedia rollout didn’t just promote the album; it served as what DDB called a “love letter to Puerto Rico.”
It turned the island’s landscapes into storytelling devices, making a deeply local album launch feel global.
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The campaign’s success extended to other recognition at Cannes, including a Gold in the Outdoor category.
Notably, the activation wouldn't have been possible without collaborations with both Google Maps and Spotify, leveraging the digital platforms to tease the album's tracks and tell the artist's story.
Our Take: Do Cross-Channel Marketing Tactics Work?
The beauty of “Tracking Bad Bunny” lies in how it utilized simple yet popular tools like Google Maps, Spotify, and real-life signages to make something unforgettable.
To me, it’s a masterclass in how marketing strategies can go beyond basic product promotion, and have the power to shape perception, provoke emotion, and reclaim narratives.
Campaigns like this prove that thinking out-of-the-box and into the streets (literally) can make creative efforts truly shine.
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