A uniquely Canadian spin on a global Volkswagen creative platform rolled out this month via an augmented reality billboard takeover in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square.
To help promote the launch of the 2012 Beetle in Canada, digital animation enabled Beetles to come to life on billboards and interact with passersby, providing them with different views of the vehicle. One, for example, turns a billboard into a tunnel with a Beetle driving out of it towards the viewer.
The billboards drive to VWjuicedup.ca where visitors can download a mobile app that will activate the experience, “juicing up” the ads by viewing them through their phone cameras. Incorporating headlines from the global campaign, the billboards have been adapted by Red Urban in Toronto and include, of course, a glyph to activate the AR experience.
“We were looking for something that was a little more innovative and a bit more engaging,” says Nicole Milette, account director, Red Urban. “The push is all about the car’s performance, its new look and innovations.”
AR transit ads in both Toronto and Vancouver are also part of the mix, driving consumers to the microsite.