Who says print is dead? Commonwealth Bank tapped the talents of a Sydney computer graphics company and put out a newspaper ad that jumps off the page.
The ad uses a smartphone’s camera to connect the graphics from the ad — which appeared in Melbourne’s mX commuter daily newspaper last week — to 3-D reader software in the phone. The software, developed along with the ad by Explore Engage, displays a virtual town on the phone’s screen. Suddenly a newspaper reader is pulled into a narrated, interactive pitch for Commbank’s augmented-reality app for real estate property.
Companies such as Explore Engage continue to stretch the virtual envelope of what we can see through a smartphone’s “eyes.” (Explore Engage also creates 3-D graphics for the Web and for public kiosks). Scan an image next to a movie review in a magazine and watch the film’s trailer. Snap an image of the Opera House and be sent to a web search of info about the place (thanks, Google Googles).
What’s next on the hyper-reality horizon?
