Using AR to Activate Honda’s OOH Campaign
Welcome to a realm where innovation and aspiration converge – Honda’s Wall of Dreams, brought to life by Tool in partnership with Honda and RPA. This augmented reality (AR) project vividly unfolds Honda’s diverse accomplishments and visionary ambitions, inviting viewers to be a part of this enthralling journey, where every quadrant of the mural tells a story of dreams and determination.
Eye-Level Experience
Honda: Wall of Dreams is more than a mural; it’s a portal into the multifaceted world of Honda’s achievements and dreams. Honda and RPA collaborated with Tool to craft this immersive AR experience, offering viewers a glimpse into the adrenaline of racing both on the track and off, the harmony of electric futures, and the inspiring possibilities of turning algae into fuel and establishing a lunar base. Accessed by simply scanning a QR code, viewers are drawn into individual scenes, becoming part of Honda's vibrant and forward-thinking world.
The eye-level experience will be showcased at numerous Honda activations nationwide, including dealer events, key activations, and various auto shows across the United States. Furthermore, the AR experience will be prominently featured in a variety of Honda Dealerships, creating a unique and scalable experience for the overall campaign.
When a user enters the experience, the nebula will take over the artwork and highlight key interactions with pulsing icons. Within each of these sections, we implemented gaze detection technology, enabling the hero element to appear and disappear instantaneously in response to your natural gaze. This functionally not only introduces an element of surprise and engagement but also enhances the user’s ability to seamlessly navigate the AR environment.
Once a user selects their section or story of choice, the scene will come to life, taking over your surroundings. Narrated by Honda’s Brand Ambassador, John Cena, each unique story took the user on a journey that showcases the ingenuity and inventiveness of Honda’s power of dreams.
The Design
Preserving the illustrative and maximalist aesthetics of the original mural was crucial in our design approach. The large and detailed mural demanded a thoughtful blend of 2.5D to preserve the original look and feel of the mural paired with 3D elements to enhance the immersive and unexpected dimensions. Balancing the visual density of the original art in a 3D AR space was a significant challenge, but it was essential for a seamless and dynamic experience. This combination of artistic integrity and technological innovation resulted in an immersive narrative that submerges viewers in the diverse and ambitious world of Honda.
Creative Tech
In partnership with 8th Wall, we integrated image markers onto each section of the mural and leveraged mobile web-based AR technology to address the complexities of tracking a massive mural and faithfully recreating the atmospheric nebula in WebGL. This collaboration has yielded what could arguably be considered one of the most visually immersive AR experiences to date, characterized by its rich detail and captivating realism, effectively bringing every depicted dream to life.
Furthermore, performance posed a substantial challenge that demanded innovative solutions. Given the project's unique requirements, which encompassed a substantial volume of 2D and 3D assets and the need for users to access the four scenes in any order, our team had to employ creative strategies. This involved a blend of shaders, texture recycling, UV animations, and instanced meshes—all meticulously orchestrated to maintain a consistent framerate while ensuring seamless synchronization of audio and video assets.
Sky-Level Experience
Simultaneously, Tool implemented cutting edge sky segmentation technology that transforms the sky into a canvas for Honda’s narratives, projecting scenes against the vast expanse, and providing viewers with a captivating experience. In Los Angeles and New York, users have the opportunity to explore prominent OOH (Out-of-Home) locations to access this unique experience.
For this version, users were granted an exclusive glimpse of Honda's groundbreaking eVTOL (electric take-off and landing aircraft) concept in Augmented Reality (AR). The eVTOL gracefully descends directly above the user, making a brief appearance before gracefully ascending into the distance, where the iconic Honda: Power of Dreams logo majestically dominates the sky at the end of the experience.
The Design
A second experience for non eye-level/sky level placements use of sky segmentation technology opened up unique opportunities to weave together experiences in the foreground and the sky, creating a comprehensive and engaging narrative that showcases Honda’s visionary pursuits.
To bring this vision to life, our team designed and implemented a captivating 3D layered sky dome. This specially crafted dome served as an immersive screen, enabling us to project the key narratives to the sky. By skillfully distinguishing between the sky and the terrestrial landscape within this dome, we achieved a dynamic interplay between these elements, including a 3D model of the eVTOL, enhancing the overall impact of the narrative. This technique not only integrated the sky into our storytelling but transformed it into an integral canvas for projection and manipulation.
Creative Tech
Our development team utilized the sky dome asset to orchestrate two pivotal scenes. First, they employed a sky layer to meticulously construct the immersive environment, seamlessly merging it with the tangible landscape, effectively segmenting the architectural elements within it. Second, we integrated a SLAM layer positioned prominently in front of the buildings, enriched with WebGL particle systems to elevate the entire virtual world within the user's camera perspective. Elements within this layer gracefully materialized in front of the buildings, effectively anchoring the forefront layer to the real-world surroundings.
