webAR #4: Web AR technology in practice

Puma

At the launch of a new shoe model, how do you focus all the attention of influencers on the product being launched? Give them each a pair and... invite them into a room with a virtual floor. On the surface, it's just an ordinary green carpet. However, all you have to do is fire up your smartphone and point the camera at it to see the floor come to life. You can then feel yourself falling into an abyss, riding a mountain train or floating on clouds. A paradise for Instagram photos! The animated floor is only the backdrop, however - the protagonist of all accounts is, as if by the way (sic!), the new shoes! 

Królewskie Beer

Kompania Piwowarska used web AR in a campaign aimed at linking the Królewskie brand with Warsaw. The company released bottles of beer with eighteen different labels - placing the names of the capital's districts, the outline of their boundaries and symbols on them. When the user pointed the smartphone's camera at the bottle, the web AR engine detected the sticker and displayed information about Mokotów, Ursynów or Żoliborz respectively. He was faced with quite a task. The image stuck on the bottle has the right curvature and the reflection of light is also different. The campaign strongly involved users and increased the brand's sense of connection with Warsaw. You can read more about this campaign in our case study.

Ikea

Before you buy a piece of furniture, check that it will match the interior you are furnishing - this is the offer Ikea has made to its customers. However, you no longer need to order a courier to do this. All you have to do is turn on your smartphone's camera, point it at the place where you want to place the table, sofa or wardrobe, and select one of the many pieces of furniture available in the shop. The web AR engine inserts a 3D model and the customer assesses whether it fits the décor. The result? More user engagement and... fewer product returns.

Universal&General Mills

What about combining eating milk soup with a computer game? Go ahead! This is the idea that Universal film studio and breakfast cereal manufacturer General Mills came up with together. All it took was pointing a smartphone camera at a packet of cornflakes, and cartoon characters appeared on the table. Four different flavours and four different trolls. Each invited a different arcade or mind game. The kids collected points, which they could later exchange for surprises.

Porsche

The luxury car manufacturer created a virtual 3D wizard to personalise its cars. To fire it up, all you had to do was scan a QR code embedded in a newspaper advertisement with your smartphone. Immediately, a 3D model of the latest Porsche appeared on the newspaper. The user could view it from all sides. Move away to assess the silhouette or zoom in to see the details. He could also change the colour of the body, choose the shape of the rims, switch the lights on and off. He could find out the price offer and, with one click, arrange a test drive.

Bacardi 

Do you know the stall in an amusement park where you get a teddy bear for hitting a shot? Bacardi has decided to set up such virtual stalls. Where? It was up to the users' imagination. All they had to do was turn on their smartphone camera and point it at the lawn, pavement or sports field. On the virtual booth, discs appeared in colours corresponding to the three flavours of the drink: lime, lemon and orange. To score points, one had to shoot accurately at the correct disc from the appearing bottle. Prizes awaited the best, just like in a real funfair.