adidas Originals 3D Neighborhood

Challenge

Using Augmented Reality technology, the adidas Originals Neighborhood pops-out of a real-world collection of sneakers. The environment is a virtual recreation of the Neighborhood setting which is the backdrop of the brand’s 2010 Celebrate Originality advertising campaign. The special sneaker collection was available beginning in January 2010 and allowed fans to go inside the Neighborhood to discover the streets where adidas originality lives.

Solution

The metaio metaio Web SDK Shockwave plug-in was chosen as the base technology for this AR experience as Adobe Shockwave offers the necessary performance and a physics engine backend suited to create the different adidas game worlds. For robust tracking of the different adidas sneakers, the tracking approach available with the Unifeye Viewer Shockwave was optimized and smoothed. The Neighborhood content and the game interaction logic were created on top of the VWeb SDK plug-in using Adobe Director.

Conclusion

Augmented Reality offers a cool and fun way to engage customers with their newly purchased product, in this case an adidas sneaker. Features like a reward for the best players and a Facebook link to share the AR game experience with friends help to spread the word to a large mass. Using a shoe as controller, adidas implemented AR in a playful and challenging way that has never been seen before. They created an original experience with a WOW-factor. The application showed once more the potential of Augmented Reality in brand communication. It is also an appropriate tool to create or to conserve brand loyalty, which is very important for sports and fashion companies like adidas.