Famous was tasked with creating an immersive experience to virtually "unbox" AT&T's new trio of Windows smartphones. When the client approached us with the concept of using AR to "unbox" the three smartphones, we wanted to make sure that the AR was used to add value to the experience and not just used as another parlor trick.
With our in-house design, 3D, and tech teams, we created three robust augmented reality experiences, one for each phone. The augmented reality app was built in Flash and designed to work seamlessly with Facebook, allowing users to simply connect to the app. The app can pull in live status updates and your friends’ profile pictures or, if a user does not want to connect to the app, they can continue the experience sans social integration.
Following AT&T's brand guidelines and television campaign, we designed, modeled and animated five 3D characters that guide the user through the experience. Because of the sheer volume of animations and 3D components, we spent several days optimizing the app for better load times, and found a balance between the best visual quality and the best AR tracking performance. We also paid close attention to the AR marker and worked with ad agency BBDO to create a unique marker that underscored strong branding while providing reliable performance. Users that do not have access to a printer can text a number to have the marker sent straight to their phone, using the phone screen itself as the marker.
Why this app rocks:
* It features 3D interactive models of the HTC Surround, LG Quantum and Samsung Focus smartphones
* "Me" and "People" tiles allow users to post Facebook messages and view profile pictures
* "Music" and "Video" tiles let users pause, rewind, fast-forward or skip through a series of songs or videos
* "No Webcam" option gives users without a webcam the opportunity to demo all of the phones’ features
* A special reward is presented in the form of a golden tile when users preview all 3 smartphones