Mazda USA: HeroMirror AI Brings Fans Inside the 5 Sides of the CX-5

For Memorial Day weekend in the USA, Mazda launched 5 Sides of the CX-5, a cinematic campaign for the 2026 Mazda CX-5 told through five original films across five genres.

Experience

Fact Sheet

Client

Mazda USA x
CX-5

Location

Los Angeles, New York & Boston

ARSetup

HeroMirror AI

Step Into the 5 Sides of the CX-5 with HeroMirror AI

For Mazda USA’s 5 Sides of the CX-5 campaign, INDE brought the worlds of five original short films into selected cinemas across Los Angeles, New York, and Boston through HeroMirror AI, an AI powered photo booth that transformed moviegoers into part of the story.

By letting audiences step inside one of five cinematic posters and instantly receive a shareable branded image, the activation turned Mazda’s launch campaign into a live interactive AR experience built for Memorial Day movie crowds

Mazda USA built 5 Sides of the CX-5 as a movie-inspired launch campaign, with five short films exploring different sides of the new CX-5 through distinct cinematic worlds. The campaign was created around genres including romance, action, science fiction, musical, and suspense, and positioned the vehicle as versatile enough to move every side of you.

The opportunity for the activation was clear: bring that creative campaign into cinemas during a major moviegoing holiday weekend and use experiential marketing technology to turn launch buzz into a personal, shareable fan moment.

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Challenge: The installation needed to do more than place people on a poster. It had to:

  • Extend Mazda’s campaign world in a way that felt cinematic and premium.

  • Work as a no app, high throughput activation inside busy cinemas over Memorial Day weekend.

  • Keep the result realistic and visually polished so guests felt naturally part of the artwork.

  • Turn the interaction into shareable content that carried the campaign beyond the cinema through email and social media.

The goal was brand awareness and launch excitement, but delivered through a creative experience that felt true to Mazda’s storytelling rather than just a promotional booth.

Solution: Step Into Mazda’s Cinematic Universe with HeroMirror AI

INDE deployed HeroMirror AI as the centerpiece of the House of Nu activation, using the platform as an AI powered photo booth that instantly placed fans inside a premium branded scenario.

Built on HeroMirror’s proven event hardware and engagement infrastructure, HeroMirror AI is designed to photo-realistically place any audience member inside any branded environment, outfit, or role, with VFX-grade output rendered in under a second.

For House of Nu, that meant:

  • Guests selected one of the three special Miami race weekend looks inspired by the suits worn by George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

  • HeroMirror AI placed them into Nu’s purple world, not just into an outfit, creating a more immersive brand moment.

  • The system preserved each person’s human features and expressions, keeping the output personal and recognisable.

  • The final image felt premium, photoreal, and shareable, turning each interaction into a branded memory from the event.

This approach shifted the experience away from pure wardrobe simulation and toward transformation, which is exactly where HeroMirror AI is strongest.

Why It Worked

HeroMirror AI is built around three core moments: attract, transform, and capture. That model matched the Mazda brief perfectly. In a busy cinema environment, the installation drew attention, transformed visitors into part of the creative world, and delivered a shareable branded asset within seconds.

For Mazda USA, the activation turned a film-led vehicle launch into a live audience experience that amplified awareness, rewarded curiosity, and extended campaign reach through personal sharing. For brands exploring HeroMirror AI, AI powered photo booths, and experiential marketing technology, this project shows how a strong campaign world can become something audiences do not just watch, but enter.

Deliverables

  • Seamless, user-friendly deployment..

  •  AR Software and Content.

  • Custom Branded with featured baseball stars.

  • Delivered via online dashboard

INDE 📽️

Mazda CX-5 🚘

INDE 📽️ Mazda CX-5 🚘