Pringles® - AR You Ready!?
Since 2019, Pringles® has been involved in the fields of digital pop culture, gaming, and eSports. For the football year 2022, we teamed up with ACNE to combine these brand attributes and transformed every Pringles® package into a mini-gaming console with the help of augmented reality technology. Shoot the can and unlock one of six individual football characters - virtually and with a bit of luck also 3D-printed for home.
Let the games begin
Just in time for the start of the 2022 World Cup, the six most popular flavors offered their own gaming challenge to snackers. An innovative game connects brand, product, and event, hitting the zeitgeist and target audience.
The gameplay
Since the worldcup was coming up, football was the obvious choice, while the can served as a goal wall behind which the mysterious characters were hidden. We gave the real can a virtual interface: by aiming well, the playing field in the shape of the iconic Pringles chips was gradually shot down, to free the character behind it.
Next Reality for everyone
With the mini-game, Pringles wants to reach all, but especially new target groups: The widely discussed GenZ, but also gamers or those who want to become one. So what does it take to make this innovative campaign palatable to everyone: excitement, fun, and no technical barriers. Thanks to WebAR technology, our experience requires no app and therefore no download. Just visit the website and go.
Mission statement: Free the Pringles family
To achieve this, we developed a journey for all senses: each can has a QR code that links to the promotional website and teases the characters. Users snack a little, choose a character, and place the can. The game starts. After the excitement, because time is running out, comes the entertainment. The lovingly designed characters free themselves from the can, celebrate the user with their signature move, and lure as a limited 3D print for the registration.
Flavors with personality
Unique character design
With great attention to detail, we set out to give each character an individual look. From a stylish pair of sunglasses to a practical fanny pack and a sporty training jacket with a chips shaped logo. Based on these unique features, the characters were then brought to life and integrated into the AR experience as 3D models.
3D Rendering & Animation
The basic shape was the iconic Pringles can design. The 3D rendering of the characters was carried out with react-three-fiber. To bring them all to life, our 3D artists first roughly pre-built the animations and rigging in Maya and then hand-animated and perfected the fluid movements.
WebAR Experience for everywhere
To implement it, we repeatedly used the 8th Wall framework for augmented reality on the web, which excels in surface recognition, lighting, and relative scaling. This allows the realistic 3D assets and character animations to be experienced in any environment. By working with the 8th Wall framework, we have managed to display complex animations smoothly on all popular mobile devices. A simple yet intuitive UI complements this technical foundation.
32% increase in sales during the campaign period
Even before the iconic can was turned into a mini game console, Pringles® was already the number one snacking brand among gamers. As the first brand, an AR game is now offered as an extended product experience, which creates an additional incentive to purchase the packaging.
