The Augmented Reality Train rolls on

By now if you've been following our blog or twitter feed (or seen the latest copy of Esquire magazine here) you know all about this thing called Augmented Reality (A/R) and that we're fans (for the right brand, done the right way of course!). So, with that in mind no one here should be surprised that A/R just keeps rolling on and marketers are trying to find the killer app of this technology.

Enter the latest bid from our friends from Coke Zero and Hollywood with their promotion of the hope-to-be blockbuster "Avatar: The last Air-bender." In a typical Hollywood overstatement of reality (or augmented reality in this case) the Coke spot that promotes this campaign and on product "AVTR" tag certainly makes it look ALOT cooler than it is, but it's still pretty darn cool.

Coupled with a almost unbranded presence on a microsite you can try the A/R at AVTR.com. So, grab a coke and go check it out!

Some interesting credits

For the latest release of Activision Blizzard/Infinity Wards Call Of Duty video game series, Modern Warfare 2 there were some interesting credits in terms of what agencies were recognized to be a part of the largest video game, hence entertainment release of all-time as Infinity Ward stated on it's website. The game, which retails for $59.99, sold 4.7 million units in its first day on sale, taking in $310 million for the game publisher. By comparison, the year’s highest-grossing movie, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” earned more than $200 million domestically by the end of its first weekend as reported by the New York Times.

So, what agencies developed the campaign to promote the game? Well, While TBWA/Chiat is the companies lead agency, it was a compilation of other agencies, and most interestingly retailers that are responsible for the games launch. In reviewing the Article on AdAge take notice that retailers like WalMart (in cooperation with Activision), BestBuy and Gamespot developed and ran creative and components of the campaign for the launch. Further evidence at the importance of the retailers as a central component of manufacturs campaigns rather than just points of distribution.

Read the article here.