The Best of Augmented Reality

by Denise Mc Manus · January 9, 2012

AR seems to have caught on in a variety of scenarios and I for one love this new technology that brings things to life making your pc, tablet and mobile visually fun, 3 dimensional and realistic. Here are our top AR marketing campaigns and Apps for 2011.

1. LEGO Digital Box

The Lego AR kiosk called “DIGITAL BOX” has been developed by LEGO Digital Systems and Metaio. It allows the consumer to visibly see what the Lego product being sold can be built into. The kiosks are out in LEGO brand stores worldwide and are widely seen as one of the best examples of augmented reality in marketing.

2. Rihanna and Nivea Cream
As a sponsor of Rihanna’s US and European Loud Tour, Nivea created a few digital advertising experiences with Rihanna. One of these was an AR experience by buying a tin of Nivea Creme or printing one out from Nivea’s website, you could hold either up to your computer’s webcam. Then, voila, Rihanna appears.

3. Arm Tatoo
A fun AR app, where a simple barcode marker is tattooed onto someone’s arm which when viewed through a camera transforms into a three dimensional animation of a flying dragon, this App was created by ThinkAnApp.

4. Tesco’s Online Shopping

Online shopping made easy with British retailer Tesco launching an AR program for consumers to see 3D images of some of their products online. Users merely hold up images from the catalog to their computer’s webcam to see the 3D version of the product. Hide those credit cards quickly.

5. BMW and Ray Ban

I love the way advertisers are using AR to market products, and was torn between two marketing campaigns so I have added both of them. The zooty little BMW Z4 racing around the desk and Ray Ban Sunglasses where you can see how they will look on your face, perhaps the only downfall is you cannot feel how the products will handle or feel.

Z4 Campaign

Ray Ban Campaign

6. Axe

On 5 March this year, Unilever owned brand, Axe deodorant took there “Angels falling to earth” campaign a bit further by adding a sign in the Victoria Railway Station telling travelers to look up to a giant video screen. When looking up, they saw an image of themselves plus one of the angels, who were featured in the US and English ad campaigns. This video shows the reactions.

7. AR Apps that we have found useful include some of the following:

• Car Finder, not that any of us need it but if you know of someone that may this nifty little app helps you find your lost car.

• Pocket Universe: Virtual Sky Astronomy, ever looked up at the sky and wondered what you were looking at? This app helps to decipher the stars, planets and constellations for you. Once the app is downloaded you don’t need connectivity, this clever app contains data on 10,000 stars, 88 constellations and lunar phases, while the “tonight’s sky” feature shows meteor showers and visible planets based on your location.

• TwittARound, this app uses the GPS, compass and camera to show where Tweets are coming from, cool when you want to see who is twittering what at an event or just generally around you.

• Nearest Tube, this app will help you to find the nearest subway station in the UK, no reason to ask for directions, get lost or be late.

• Wikitude AR Travel Guide, this app allows you to just hold up your phone and it will display Wikipedia information on the site you are looking at, allowing you to learn everything about anything. This is just one of many of the Wikitude apps, take a look here at the others.

8. Business Cards

Finally some innovative AR business cards, just for fun. These cards can provide a wealth of information when done correctly, including additional text, images and even video just by holding the card up to a webcam.

9. AR In Reality

Want your world to come to life? Autonomy, a leading enterprise infrastructure company, has a new technology that can change the way we look at and interact with physical objects. Called Aurasmsa, it works with smart phone and tablets in real time, turning static images or even objects into videos, games and interactive experiences. You can aim your phone at a building and see a video about that building, aim it at a picture in a newspaper, magazine or bus stand and launch an interactive experience.

This video was supplied by Autonomy.

10. Augmented ID

Augmented ID is a TAT concept that visualizes the digital identities of people you meet in real life. With a mobile device and face recognition software from Polar Rose, Augmented ID enables you to discover selected information about people around you. All users control their own augmented appearance, by selecting the content and social network links they want to show to others. Modifying your augmented ID is easier than saying 1 2 3!