Nissan hides a Patrol in the outback in nationwide 'find it, keep it' challenge

Nissan Australia has turned the entire country into a competition arena with its It’s Out There campaign, hiding a brand-new Patrol in the outback and daring Australians to find it - with the winner keeping the vehicle.

The nationwide activation began online with cryptic clues dropped by geolocator Oscar Pearce, best known for representing Australia in the GeoGuessr World Cup. CarExpert.com.au published the first clue, sparking buzz across 4x4 forums and drawing more than 1,000 video entries from enthusiasts keen to prove their off-road credentials.

Five teams were eventually flown into South Australia’s Bendleby Ranges - a fifth-generation sheep station with more than 200 kilometres of 4WD tracks - to continue the hunt. Over several days, contestants navigated punishing terrain, shifting weather and live obstacles, driving Nissan Patrols in the process.

The winning team, mother and son Beth and Travers, described the experience as “life-changing,” with Travers saying his first trip would be to his mother’s farm with his young family. Channel 7’s Sunrise broadcast live from the secret location, helping carry the spectacle into homes nationwide.

Bilgen Tug, director of brand and customer experience at Nissan, said the campaign leaned into the Patrol’s heritage in Australia’s off-road culture. “Leveraging Patrol’s long history in Australia, we sought to intrigue 4x4 communities and adventurers at heart,” she said. “We celebrated how a Nissan Patrol can give anyone the opportunity to explore all that the Australian landscape has to offer and captured those moments in an authentic way.”

TBWA\Melbourne worked alongside Nissan, Revolver and Glue Society to bring the idea to life. Paul Reardon, chief creative officer at TBWA\Melbourne, said: “Finders-keepers with a brand-new Nissan Patrol. Watching the lengths people went to in order to enter this competition was amazing. It’s a level of engagement with a brand that’s often so hard to achieve. And at the heart of the competition, amongst all the excitement, we also had a brilliant product demonstration.”

Glue Society’s Jonathan Kneebone added that the production tested the team as much as the contestants. “It sounds simple, but as productions go, it was beyond what we’d ever attempted. Wild weather, extraordinary remoteness and lack of infrastructure aside, the reward was in making the seemingly impossible happen. It brought out the real adventurer in all of us, just like the Patrol itself.”

Stephanie Gwee, creative director at TBWA\Melbourne, said the activation was designed to show Patrol’s place in Australian life. “Hiding a Patrol in the outback wasn’t just a stunt and it wasn’t just advertising. It was a way to show that this vehicle belongs to the land and the people who take it on. This campaign was about celebrating that spirit and inviting even more Australians into the story.”

The campaign culminated in a 30-second TV spot and generated broad earned coverage across 4x4 communities, social and mainstream media.