"Ice Age" Movie Opens With Double Dose of Augmented Reality

In addition to the expected kids' marketing tie-ins such as a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion, Ice Age: Continental Drift  opens in movie theaters today with a mobile campaign it hopes moviegoers will find cool: GoldRun’s augmented reality mobile app.

Using the free photo app, available for iPhone and Android, fans can pose with more than a dozen characters, including Scrat, narrated by Chris Wedge, Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Dennis Leary) and Sid (John Legquizamo), from the fourth film (expected to top the box office this weekend) in the wildly popular Ice Age series.

The Goldrun app lets brands and advertisers populate the mobile space as fans and consumers share their photos on social networks and spread the word virally.

“20th Century Fox used GoldRun to transport the Ice Age franchise out of the theaters into the lives of kids and families, turning the beloved characters into shareable virtual toys placed directly in the hands of fans,” Vivian Rosenthal, Founder and CEO of GoldRun, told brandchannel. “We are excited about the debut of our API which will allow any brand to easily integrate our virtual camera features into their existing apps, instantly bringing the fun of our virtual photobooths to their entire community.”

And in another augmented reality tie-in for the opening, Carlton Kids has produced a book which also integrates AR — check it out in the video below: