Dunhill Brings Brand to Life with Augmented Reality

Alfred Dunhill, the iconic British purveyor of luxury menswear and accessories that sells its goods under dunhill brand, says it's "spearheading the creativity of augmented reality in the work of luxury and retail."

Using Aurasma's AR lite app (downloaded by more than one million iPhone and iPad users to date), dunhill hopes to drive sales of its Autumn/Winter 2011 Voice and brand awareness. The mobile partnership's goal is to bring dunhill's new collection to life using augmented reality, so that "every appearance of the Voice campaign can now be transformed into moving images and a transactional platform."

With one tap, users can shop the latest collection from the dunhill online store or find out more about the cast of the Voice campaign. The video above shows how the app works with a print ad, but it also works with dunhill's billboards and other digital marketing touchpoints.

The Voice campaign, which launched with its Spring/Summer 2011 collection, may be more familiar to BC readers in the UK and Europe. It celebrates "brilliant" British men such as explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, among others, talking about what inspires them (while garbed in dunhill, of course). The criteria for inclusion: "casting for Voice paid no regard to age, look, status or trend – only achievement. Voice is an honest and elegant portfolio of British men."