Augmented Reality Campaigns 2

National Geographic “Live Augmented Reality”

A passer-by steps in front of a live augmented reality installation and suddenly they are inside National Geographic content. Leopards appear beside them. An astronaut stands in-frame. Dolphins, storms, dinosaurs. The moment is immediate, public, and designed to be captured.

What this activation does

Appshaker launches a large-scale way of immersing people in scenes from National Geographic’s extensive archive. The experience places people right inside the content and lets them move through multiple scenes in seconds.

The content choices that make it work

The scenes are not subtle. They are instantly recognisable and visually dramatic, which is exactly what you need in a public space.

Leopards
Astronaut
Dolphins
Storms
Dinosaurs

The loop it creates in the crowd

This plays out like live communication, not passive media.

People see themselves inside the scene.
They capture the proof, photos and video.
They share it, so the moment travels beyond the physical footprint.

The scale signal, touring plus sharing

The reaction is described as huge. Tens of thousands interact with the National Geographic brand while it tours Hungary, and thousands share pictures and videos on Facebook. That combination is the point. Physical touring drives volume. Social sharing extends reach.

A close parallel. Lynx “Fallen Angels” at Victoria Station

Sometime last year Lynx also runs a similar live augmented reality activity with its Fallen Angels in London’s Victoria Station. The mechanism is comparable. Put people into a surprising live scene, make it feel real in the moment, then let the footage do the distribution work.

If you plan something like this, what to design for

Scene selection. Pick a small set of scenarios people want to step into immediately.
Capture quality. Output framing and realism matter, because the output becomes the share unit.
Throughput. Live installs win when the queue keeps moving and the experience is understood in seconds.
Touring is the program. One location is a stunt. A route is reach.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “Live Augmented Reality” here?
A live, in-person AR installation that places people inside National Geographic scenes from its archive.

Who creates it?
Appshaker.

What scenes are explicitly used?
Leopards, an astronaut, dolphins, storms, and dinosaurs.

Where does it run?
It tours Hungary and reaches a much larger audience through shared photos and videos.

What is the Lynx parallel?
A similar live AR activity with Fallen Angels at London’s Victoria Station.

Volkswagen Beetle: Juiced Up

A billboard looks normal until you point your phone at it. Then the Beetle “juices up” into a 3D scene that spills out of the frame, turning a static poster into something you can explore.

That is the twist behind Volkswagen’s Beetle “Juiced Up” launch, created with Red Urban. Traditional out-of-home placements like billboards and bus shelters double as augmented reality markers. Download the custom app, scan the printed ad, and a 3D experience unlocks on your screen.

An AR marker is a printed visual pattern that a camera can recognize. When the app detects it, it anchors digital 3D content to the real-world poster so the animation appears to sit on top of the physical ad.

In large automotive launches, the best out-of-home work turns “I noticed it” into “I did something with it”, without asking people to learn a new behaviour.

Why AR markers work so well in out-of-home

Out-of-home already has the two things AR needs. Scale and repetition. People pass the same placements multiple times, which makes it easier for curiosity to build. Once someone scans, the experience feels like a hidden layer you only get if you engage.

The other advantage is perception. A revamp is hard to communicate through copy alone. A 3D reveal makes the “newness” feel more tangible, even if the viewer only plays for a few seconds.

What this launch is really optimizing for

This is not just about feature education. It is about reframing the Beetle’s personality and making the redesign feel more assertive and contemporary. The app is a proof device. It says “this is different” by behaving differently than a normal poster campaign.

What to steal for your next OOH-led activation

Make the trigger obvious. A single prompt, scan here, is enough. Let the payoff do the persuasion.
Anchor the interaction to the medium. If it is out-of-home, the phone should feel like a lens on the poster, not a separate experience.
Keep the first moment fast. If the 3D reveal does not land immediately, the novelty collapses.
Design for “I have to show you”. The best activations create a demo impulse that spreads in person.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “Volkswagen Beetle: Juiced Up”?

It is an out-of-home launch activation where Volkswagen posters and billboards act as AR markers. A dedicated mobile app unlocks a 3D Beetle experience when viewers scan the ads.

Why use AR markers instead of a standard QR code?

Markers make the poster itself the interface. That keeps the experience visually seamless, and it helps the 3D content feel physically attached to the real ad.

What is the main benefit of this approach for a product revamp?

It makes “newness” experiential. A 3D reveal can communicate attitude and redesign energy faster than a feature list.

What is the biggest practical risk with AR OOH?

Friction. If the app install and scan flow is slow, most people will not complete it. The reward has to justify the effort quickly.

What is the simplest way to improve completion rates?

Reduce steps and increase immediate payoff. Clear instruction at the poster, fast recognition, and an instant 3D moment that feels worth showing to someone else.

Airwalk: The Invisible Pop-Up Store

GoldRun and Young & Rubicam have created what is billed as the world’s first invisible pop-up store. Limited edition Airwalk sneakers appear only at the biggest skate and surf spots, so the “store” is the location, not a storefront.

Sneakerheads and skaters visit the virtual store at Washington Square Park in NYC and Venice Beach in LA. You show up, look through the phone, and the drop reveals itself.

A pop-up you cannot see until you are there

The mechanism is a location-based AR layer. The product is GPS-linked to specific places, so access is earned by presence, not by refreshing a webshop.

Instead of browsing shelves, people “capture” the virtual sneaker in the app and unlock a purchase path. The retail action is still commerce, but the pre-commerce moment is play.

In youth culture launches where scarcity and scene credibility matter, location-based drops create stronger heat than broad e-commerce blasts.

Why this lands with sneaker culture

This is not just novelty AR. It taps into three instincts that already exist in sneaker communities:

Scarcity: limited runs feel meaningful when access is constrained.
Proof of effort: being there becomes part of the story and the status.
Social retell: the experience is easy to describe and easy to show.

The “invisible store” framing also upgrades the idea from a promo to a cultural moment. It makes the drop feel like an event that happened, not a product that launched.

The business intent under the stunt

Airwalk gets a high-impact relaunch without paying for traditional retail real estate. The brand borrows the authenticity of parks and beaches, then turns those places into distribution.

That matters because it makes the product and the environment inseparable. The sneaker is not simply “for” skaters and surfers. It appears where they actually are.

What to steal for your next launch

Make access physical, even if the product is bought digitally.
Turn scarcity into a mechanic, not a banner headline.
Design a one-sentence retell, for example “the store only exists at two spots.”
Pick locations that already signal the brand, so the setting does some of the messaging work.

A few fast answers before you act

What is an “invisible pop-up store” in practical terms?

It is a temporary retail experience that exists only through a phone interface at specific real-world coordinates. No physical store build is required.

What is the core mechanic that drives participation?

Geo-fenced discovery. People must travel to a location to reveal the product, then complete an action in-app to unlock purchase.

Why not just sell the shoes online normally?

Because the launch is the marketing. Turning purchase access into a hunt creates earned attention, social proof, and a stronger sense of drop culture than a standard checkout flow.

What are the biggest risks with this approach?

Friction and disappointment. If the experience is hard to access, unstable on devices, or feels unfair due to distance, enthusiasm flips quickly.

What should a brand measure to know if it worked?

Location visits, completion rate from “found” to purchase, time-to-sell-out, and the volume and quality of organic sharing that shows people proving they were there.