Adidas Augmented Reality: Does Sweet Digital Work Mean Big Bucks?
On February 15 (for those of you in the States), Adidas is set to launch something never before tried with footwear: Augmented Reality Shoes.
Say what?
You heard me.
Adidas Originals AR Game Pack – as they have been named – is a set of 5 shoes, each with a printed AR code on the tongue. A user can hold up the code on their webcams, where they will instantly get access to a virtual “Adidas Originals Neighbourhood.” Each shoe will have a different neighbourhood, like this one below:
But wait! There’s more!
Not only will users be able to see these neighbourhoods poppin’ out of their fancy shoes, but for February, March & April, Adidas will launch new interactive games within each neighbourhood where the shoe itself will be the game controller.
With two weeks left until launch of the shoes, Adidas has released a teaser video. While it doesn’t show the augmented reality in action, it does show the kind of variety you can expect to see, dependent on the type of shoe purchased.
This campaign has yet to launch and already the blogosphere is a-buzz with this new and innovative approach to selling shoes. But will this kind of digital work translate into big bucks for Adidas? I’m definitely curious and will be following the launch of the Adidas Originals AR Game Pack closely.
Thanks to a Digital Buzz Blog post for the image up top.
More importantly, will this mean big bucks for interaction designers? I hope so, although I think many of us are also interested in applying AR to challenges beyond selling sneakers. This space has so much potential.
@Jason – Absolutely! And as an interaction designer, we look to you to help guide our strategies too.
I really see this as being HUGE for clothing though. Imaging trying on clothes when you buy them online. To me, personally, that’s where I really see AR going.
More importantly, will this mean big bucks for interaction designers? I hope so, although I think many of us are also interested in applying AR to challenges beyond selling sneakers. This space has so much potential.
@Jason – Absolutely! And as an interaction designer, we look to you to help guide our strategies too.
I really see this as being HUGE for clothing though. Imaging trying on clothes when you buy them online. To me, personally, that’s where I really see AR going.