Augmented Reality Gets a “Cheezy” Twist
Posted: November 04, 2009
Image courtesy of Wise Foods
By Ken Liebeskind
In an effort to “tweenify” its customer base, Wise Foods, makers of Cheez Doodles, has created a website that uses augmented reality to support a contest that will award prizes to the user who creates the best music video starring three animated Cheez Dudes characters.
Zemoga, an interactive agency, designed the cheezdoodles.com site that stars the Cheez Dudes, a musical trio that introduces the Rock the Cheez contest that will award a collection of garage band instruments to the creator of the best 30-second music video.
To create the video, users click “rock the cheez” on the home page and “let’s rock!” on the succeeding page to initiate the augmented reality application. Users are instructed to print out paper panels from the site, which they flash in front of their webcams to activate the augmented reality content that shows the Cheez Dudes dancing on the screen as an original rock song plays. Users hit the record button on their webcams to shoot a 30 second video, which can include a desktop scene they’ve created to make their videos more creative.
“You hit the record button and the characters play within the environment you’ve created on your desktop and if you think it looks good you record the moment,” says DJ Edgerton, Zemoga’s CEO. After the video is recorded it can be sent back to the site, where it will be posted and voted on. Users can also post it on their social media pages so their friends can see it.
The contest launched Oct. 26 and continues until Dec. 31.
Augmented reality is gaining traction as a new form of online advertising. GE launched what may have been the first American execution in February to show its Smart Grid technology. Proctor & Gamble used augmented reality content to promote Always Infinity feminine pads. Best Buy, the United States Postal Service, Topps, Papa John’s and Wal-Mart have also used it.
But Edgerton claims Wise’s use of augmented reality is unique. “Online advertising is still pushing the message out in front of consumers, that’s where the interaction ends, and it’s held true with augmented reality,” he says. “But we allow kids to interact with augmented reality and record it. You’re not just looking at the Cheez Dudes characters, you’re using them to create a 30-second video that we’ll look at and the best one will win.”
Zemoga added the record feature to the site design. “We built it in Flash and created an application that allows Flash to capture the video, save it and distribute it. We tied in webcam functionality with the augmented reality application,” he says.
The contest and new site are being promoted with a Facebook page and tweets are being sent to bloggers in the gaming space. In addition, Wise is promoting the contest with stickers on redesigned Cheez Doodles packages and shelf displays in retail stores.
“We’re a regional snack food manufacturer on the East Coast, a heritage brand that’s trying to do something different with Cheez Doodles, to change the brand personality and make it hipper for the teen and tween demo,” says Kevin Foltz, Wise Foods brand manager. “It’s our first foray into viral marketing. Augmented reality is unique and fun for gamers and kids and transfers the unique quality to our brand.”
Ken Liebeskind is a freelance reporter and copywriter who specializes in digital advertising.
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