With its playful photo add-ons in the Snap app, Snapchat is considered a pioneer in the field of augmented reality. At the last F8 Facebook conference, Marc Zuckerberg even classified the topic of augmented reality as an absolute game changer for the entire field of computing. And just two weeks ago, Apple presented its ARKit, which developers can use to develop augmented reality apps with less effort. According to Apple's CEO, the release of iOS 11 will make Apple the "world's largest augmented reality platform" overnight.
So the exciting question I wanted to get to the bottom of was how much augmented reality could already be seen in the international innovation and communication sector, which presented itself here in Cannes. In short: not much at all.
Apart from the ubiquitous lip service paid to its importance and disruptive potential, it was primarily virtual reality cases, concepts and hardware that had already arrived in the south of France.
Snap, on the other hand, is using its pioneering role in the field of augmented reality and transferring its leading camera 3D effects to its advertising formats. Jeff Miller, Head of Creative Strategy, explained the starting point of Snap's strategy in his energetic presentation "Mobile Disruption". It is now well known that the desktop sector has been in sharp decline for years in favor of mobile. For Snapchat, however, the smartphone also provides a view into the real world.
"The smartphone is the camera"
For Jeff Miller, the camera function is quite simply the most important function of the ubiquitous smartphone. In fact, the smartphone can provide the breakthrough for the new realities. The sophisticated 3D special glasses are technically complex, expensive and usually feel far more like a hindrance than a way to inspire virtuality.
We had an exclusive meeting with Will Rolls, one of two Creative Agency Partners at Facebook Germany, on the fringes of the conference. He knows that there is no sign of new VR or AR advertising formats at Facebook on the advertising front. There may be a new platform in 2018 that will open up new dimensions in the ad business.
On the other hand, there was a ray of hope at the award ceremonies in the mobile category. After a long seven-year creative break, the innovative band Gorillaz delivered a veritable firework display of VR, 360-degree video, mixed and augmented reality for the release of their new album "Humanz" and deservedly collected a Gold Lion for the Official Gorillaz App.