Augmented Reality at the Super Bowl

This weekend comes the day all Football fans have been waiting for: when the Philadelphia Eagles meet the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s time again for one of the biggest sports events in the world – the Super Bowl. As a unique platform with immense global success, the Super Bowl offers companies a terrific opportunity to present their brands on a global stage for years. With the introduction of Augmented Reality (AR), the marketing opportunities have been significantly expanded once again.

AR allows companies to showcase their products and services at the Super Bowl in a fun and interactive way, providing viewers with an unforgettable experience. From AR-based ads during the game to AR advertising campaigns before, during and after the event – the possibilities are endless. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the marketing opportunities of AR at the Super Bowl and how businesses can benefit from this innovative technology. Down, set, hut!

Halftime Show Superbowl

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It’s Showtime: At Super Bowl 2021, Pepsi allowed fans to be transported into the Pepsi commercial for the halftime show through an AR portal. With a 360-degree AR experience, users became part of musician The Weeknd’s show. Fans were able to access the AR portal by scanning a QR code on specially marked Pepsi cans, which brought them to the Super Bowl Halftime website on their smartphone. From there, they could click a link to enter the AR portal, which prompted them to open the door to the portal in their physical space. Once the AR portal was placed, users were moved into the portal to explore the Halftime Show commercial featuring The Weeknd in 360 degrees. From the living room directly into another dimension: by this, especially for fans who were not there, the halftime show became an unforgettable experience.

The Famous Group: NFL Super Bowl Mixed Reality Production

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The NFL commissioned The Famous Group, a fan experiences agency, to design and choreograph the 2020 Super Bowl pre-show, which would celebrate the history of the sport and the contributions of 100 players and 10 coaches by using virtual and mixed reality elements. The Future Group provided its virtual-production platform and technical support. Challenges on this project included perfect integration of virtual stages, cameras and lighting with the real stadium environment and synchronization with other content. Everything had to run under precise time control to ensure a successful Augmented Reality presentation.

Experience football stars up close: Visa HeroMirror

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Financial services company Visa used Augmented Reality at the 55th Super Bowl to showcase their new AR-powered HeroMirror fan experience: This experience deployed “Tap to Pay” technology in the Super Bowl Fan Zone and promoted it on social media. The HeroMirror experience was designed by NFL players and offered fans the opportunity to meet and interact with their heroes and share unique moments together. It also had an integrated reader configured exclusively for Visa cards to unlock the experience and demonstrate the benefits of contactless payment. INDE’s HeroMirror system automatically captured the encounter in video and photo, and these could either be shared directly on social media, or sent via email.

Facebook AR Super Bowl Filter

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In 2020, Facebook gave the millions of users chatting in its Messenger app about the game the opportunity to support their team in an immersive way by showcasing new AR camera filters developed in partnership with the NFL. Fans could use the end zone filter to represent themselves as a Buccaneers or Chiefs wide receiver catching a touchdown pass of 80 yards to win the game, according to Facebook. The fan filter allowed fans to put themselves in Raymond James Stadium and support their team via social media – judging by the results, it appears the Buccs had the better fans 😉

Marketing at the Super Bowl is more than just overpriced tv spots. Keep your eyes open for this year’s Augmented Reality specials. Because those who know about the most engaging form of Marketing, will never miss a chance to use Augmented Reality.