3 Creative Augmented Reality (AR) Award Winning Marketing Campaigns

Curious to learn how brands use AR (augmented reality) technology to design creative award-winning marketing campaigns?

Here are 3 creative augmented reality (AR) award-winning marketing campaigns for your inspiration

JFK MOONSHOT Campaign – Winner in Augmented Reality, at the 12th annual Shorty Awards

The JFK Moonshot campaign was launched in 2019 by the JFK Presidential Library & Museum to celebrate 50 years from the Apollo 11 Mission. The mission was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon and one of the greatest technological achievements of the 20th century.

Seven years earlier, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his now-famous “We choose to go to the moon” speech in which he characterized space as a new frontier and outlined the pioneering spirit of the American nation.

We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.

John F Kennedy, “We choose to go to the Moon”

In 1969, almost 600 million people around the world tuned in to watch man’s first steps on the moon with excitement and awe. In 2019, thanks to its augmented reality-based campaign, the JFK Presidential Library & Museum prompted the same emotions of bewilderment and curiosity.

JFK Moonshot was a fully-synchronized augmented reality recreation of Apollo 11 where every moment, manoeuvre, and milestone unfolded in real-time, second-by-second.

Campaign challenge:

Celebrate 50 years from the launch of Apollo 11

JFK Moonshot Campaign features:

• Dedicated mobile app;
• Interactive AR games;
• Archival NASA footage;
• Educational multimedia experiences;
• a 363-foot, full-scale replica of the Saturn V rocket, one of the largest AR objects ever created;
• Livestreaming of the AR launch and entire mission on Twitch, the popular gaming platform.

Campaign viewers were invited to:

• Explore and launch an AR replica of the Saturn V rocket;
• Track 100+ hours of the Apollo 11 mission in real time with archival NASA footage;
• Play AR games designed to extend their knowledge of the mission with JFK-related trivia questions;
• Learn about JFK’s critical role in the moon landing through educational multimedia experiences;
• Record and share the mission’s most epic moments with friends and family;
• Practice their own moon landings with interactive AR games.

Campaign results:

1. 110,000+ rocket launches around the world;
2. 140,000+ downloads of the app;
3. 8x more social mentions than competitive museums;
4. 240,000,000+ global brand impressions;
5. An 11% increase related to JFK inspiring innovation.

ADIDAS ORIGINALS DEERUPT Campaign – Winner in Augmented Reality, at the 11th annual Shorty Awards

Adidas’ campaign, Originals Deerupt was created with a specific community in mind: the sneakerheads.

What is a sneakerhead? A sneakerhead is someone who collects, trades and or admires sneakers as a hobby. Sneakerheads see sneakers as status symbols and they are mostly Millennials and Generation Z-ers.

The sneakerhead culture began in the 1970s and the internet turned it into a global phenomenon. These days sneakers are like stocks and last year, Financial Times estimated the sneaker resale market close to US$2billion.

Some say the rarest and the most desirable sneaker ever made is the Nike MAG, the sneakers worn by Marty McFly when he time-travelled to 2015 in the Back to the Future II movie.

The biggest sneakerhead? The biggest sneakerhead is entrepreneur Miles Nadal, who spent more than US$1.2 million on a collection of rare sneakers in a sale managed by Sotheby’s last year. The collection includes a pair of 1972 Nike Waffle Racing Flat “Moon Shoes”, one of the most significant artefacts in Nike’s long history.

Campaign challenge:

Launch Deerupt in such a way to combat low-quality photos that emerge on the internet as a result of product leaks and democratize unboxing.

Adidas Originals Deerupt launch campaign features:

• The AR rendering of the DEERUPT;
• A dedicated mobile web platform that allowed Sneakerheads to use their smartphone cameras to see and interact with an AR rendering of the DEERUPT;
• Empty shoe boxes sent to high profile sneakerheads;
• In-store experiences around the world.

Campaign results:

1. 110 Million views;
2. 50,000+ virtual unboxings;
3. 123+ countries.

#ROMANOVS100 AR PHOTO ALBUM Campaign – Winner in Creative use of technology, the 12th annual Shorty Awards

#Romanovs100 is an educational project designed to bring to light a part of Russian history which has been erased from the history books by the Soviet rule. The Romanovs were Russia’s last Royal family, executed by the Bolsheviks 100 years ago.

The inspiration for this campaign came from the Romanovs themselves. They were pioneers of photography capturing almost every meaningful event in their lives with Kodak cameras, the world’s first portable cameras.

Fortunately, the Romanov archive has been preserved. The team unearthed over 4000 photographs which were adapted to digital formats allowing the campaign to make history easily accessible and engaging as well.

Campaign challenge:
Transform content to an interactive AR book which makes learning experiences an emotional journey into history.

Campaign features:

• 180° retro images in spherical view, 3D immersive experience;
• 42 short documentary-style videos;
• A limited print edition of the project using AR technology to create an interactive history book;
• Ambrotype posters – Photo teasers using 160-year-old ambrotype photography technique;
• Original soundtrack;
• Music video combining photos & VR Animation;
• The world’s first-ever digital colourization contest.

Campaign Results:

1. 25 million impressions;
2. 55,000 fans and followers;
3. +1 million post engagements;
4. +1 million video views;
5. 500,000 minutes watched;
6. #Romanovs100 on Twitter grew 2000%
7. Global media coverage: BBC Newshour, History Extra etc

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