Advertising by using apps is nothing new. Games with product names all over, in-app ads, sponsored subscriptions (The Daily) etc are all well and good, but it wasn’t enough for Red Bull. They have a free iOS racing game called Red Bull Augmented Racing where you can drive around various tracks with a 3D race car. Of course the cars have Red Bull logos all over, but that’s not the shameless advertising part; there’s also a track editor where you can build your own tracks….using Red Bull cans. I’m not talking virtual cans here, but real ones- to make a track you have to set up Red Bull cans in a pattern on the floor and scan them using your iPhone/iTouch 4G/iPad 2s camera. Only way to do it, and you have to be logged in to Facebook while doing it (and to save your races), just in case you didn’t bend over enough by buying at least 12 Red Bull cans in order to make a track. Naturally they’re only doing this to make money, and in their defense you really need to find second uses for Red Bull as that stuff tastes like complete piss. I don’t know if I should call the concept brilliant or the stupidest thing since the Motorola Xoom…I guess it depends on whether or not you’re Red Bull.
(Video after the break)
Well. That’s… novel.
Going on a tangential off-topic (if there is such a thing), this reminded me of those short-film-commercials done by BMW (or was it Mercedes?) with a handful of well known directors. And every short basically starred one of their cars. Those were one of the more “watchable” commercial extravaganzas that I know of.
That’s a weird gimmick.
why do you have to use redbull cans if you only scan the top? couldnt you just use any cans laying arount (same size)?
You need one to “activate” the track mode. Whether you can use other cans after that I don’t know. I don’t drink that piss so I didn’t try.
that’d be 1 cane/1 photo of a can, but it still seems as to much of work for me, as its just some bad racing game…
Right. Maybe they thought of themselves so highly that they think they could really push people to do this. You’re drinking Red Bull to be energized and not just for some lame game. Whoever has thought about this is clearly out of his mind. While it may prompt the consumers to really buy, it’s not like a contest where you get to be rewarded in reality too.