Tron: Legacy
Yahoo! Homepage takeover
Role:
Art Director
Background
In the late 2000s, homepage overlays were among the most disruptive, and often disliked, ad formats on the web. At Yahoo!, we had front-row seats to all the user feedback, and we took it seriously. The challenge was to take something inherently interruptive and turn it into an experience people would actually enjoy—something memorable, cinematic, and crafted with care.
The Tron: Legacy homepage takeover did just that. Built ahead of the film’s release, we created a full-page immersive experience using trailer footage, transforming the Yahoo! UK homepage into a portal to the Tron universe. Triggered from an MPU banner, the animation expanded seamlessly into an interactive overlay.
We worked with film studios at the time, and one of the perks was getting to see trailer cuts, and sometimes entire movies, before they were released. In this case, we presented the concept to Disney’s marketing team before they’d even seen a final cut of the film. They loved it so much they ran the creative across the UK homepage and extended it to other markets in the Yahoo! network.
It ended up being one of the last things I worked on at Yahoo!, and for me, it was a highlight of years spent we spent rethinking how to create branded homepage experiences that respected users while still delivering impact. It captured that rare balance between storytelling, design, and advertising, and stood out in an era when digital ads were more often scrolled past than remembered.
Credit. Artkill ︎
It ended up being one of the last things I worked on at Yahoo!, and for me, it was a highlight of years spent we spent rethinking how to create branded homepage experiences that respected users while still delivering impact. It captured that rare balance between storytelling, design, and advertising, and stood out in an era when digital ads were more often scrolled past than remembered.
Credit. Artkill ︎
© Asif Khan 2025