102) Undress Tony

Ah, the wonders of augmented reality. As the tool's applications become more common, we are simultaneously wowed and disappointed. I'd argue that AR has yet to reach its tipping point, and until now has only been effectively used by a handful of advertisers. Other attempts rely too much on the novelty of the medium itself, and less on an actual idea. Gone are the days where simply making your product "appear" will suffice. And too often, an application sans an idea combined with rudimentary AR technology equals a glitchy, unsatisfying end result.

In class this morning, we were shown a slew of recent, clever campaigns including some augmented reality examples. Despite general oohs and aahs, the example that impressed me most was campaign above, informally known as "Undress Tony." Launched earlier this year for Wrangler Europe's Blue Bell SS10 collection, it involved an interactive website where one can manipulate model (among other things) Tony Ward. Ladies...you're welcome. Fellas, there are also some interactive action sequences that don't involve bare chest, so don't be shy.

You might be thinking, this isn't AR. To which I would reply, exactly. It's such a simple concept - filming these short vignettes and then allowing people to interact with the clothes just by dragging (essentially, rewinding and fast forwarding). And the execution is flawless. You can check out and play with the newest version of the site for the FW10 collection here.

I realize that my opening was a little ranty, but the point isn't to be anti-AR. But sometimes, in addition to looking for what's next, it pays to rethink what's already been done.