AR marketing campaigns put a game into the phone camera, so a pack, a room or a city street becomes the playing field. These nine campaigns were played, not worn: no try-on filters or face masks. For each we show where the AR lived, what players did, what the brand wanted and the published result.
We picked them from the library's 56 games filed under AR & VR (a facet that also holds VR projects) and grouped them by where the augmented reality lives: in a social lens, in the browser from a pack, in a brand's own app, or out in the street. Results come from award entries, agencies and trade press; agency figures are marked. Masks and filters with no score fall outside our library criteria.
Which AR campaigns live in a social lens?
An AR lens sits inside Snapchat or another social app, so there is nothing to install, but the brand plays on someone else's platform.
Victory Mode — Nike (2024)
Agency: Arcadia (Snap's AR studio) · Mechanic: Arcade & Action · Platform: AR & VR
Nike wanted Paris teenagers playing sport in the Olympic summer, in a city where only 9% has fields for play, according to Snap's award entry; Snapchat reaches over 90% of French youth, so the sky above Paris became the pitch. Looking up, players saw a beacon pointing to the nearest Nike pop-up or store. An AR arcade set basketball and football challenges, scores went onto a live city leaderboard, and AR Nike icons at other spots added bonus points (Shorty Awards).
Result: 23 million paid impressions, 383,000 organic impressions and 642,000 Snap Star impressions, according to Snap's Shorty Awards entry. The campaign has ended.
BRICKTACULAR — LEGO (2024)
Agency: Arcadia · Mechanic: Simulation & Strategy · Platform: AR & VR
LEGO asked Snap in summer 2024 to bring play back to adults through AR. The answer was an always-on building game: build set objects against the clock to reach new challenges, or use Free Play and share the result. It was also the first branded experience on the newest Spectacles, Snap's AR glasses, where players built with both hands on real tables and called up bricks by voice (Shorty Awards).
Result: Over 1 million unique creations and more than 8 million minutes of play, according to Snap's Shorty Awards entry.
Which AR games open in the browser from a pack?
WebAR runs in the phone's browser from a QR code: no app, no store, and the pack itself is the media. Our QR code games guide covers the wider format.
WebAR PAC-MAN Box — Pizza Hut (2021)
Agency: GSD&M, with Tool (production) · Mechanic: Arcade & Action · Platform: AR & VR
Pizza Hut wanted the Pac-Man of its old dine-in restaurants back for a new generation. A QR code on the box opened the game in the mobile browser; the maze printed on the lid was the AR marker, and Pac-Man and the ghosts animated out of it. Three difficulty levels and a global leaderboard made it an arcade game (ADC Awards). It ran on 8th Wall's image-target technology (Niantic Spatial).
Result: 10.6 million Pac-Man boxes sold, 11,260 hours played and 741 million media impressions, according to the ADC Awards entry. The first figure counts boxes, not players.
Beamin' Up — Urban Decay (2022)
Agency: Tool · Mechanic: Arcade & Action · Platform: AR & VR
Urban Decay's first interactive AR game launched its Naked x Robin Eisenberg palette for the 2022 holidays. The code sat on the palette packaging and at the point of sale (LBB, via the Wayback Machine). A portal opened onto Eisenberg's galaxy in the player's room and ships of alien baddies flew out; players aimed and beamed them with "good vibes" against the clock as arrows pointed to ships out of frame. It ran on 8th Wall, and the payoff was a shareable image of the player's Good Vibe score in Eisenberg's style (Tool).
Result: We found no published play figures.
Unlock Your Fandom — Kinder (2025)
Agency: UNIT9 · Mechanic: Puzzle · Platform: AR & VR
For a Kinder Joy tie-in with Netflix's Stranger Things and Funko, every egg hid a QR code. It opened a mobile WebAR puzzle built around Vecna's grandfather clock: solve it, free the trapped characters and collect digital rewards (shots). The way in is the code inside the egg, so the game starts with a purchase.
Result: No figures have been published.
Which brands built their own AR app?
An app costs players a download but leaves room for long sessions and device features such as wall detection.
Forensic Detective: Inside The Crime Scene — Oxygen (2018)
Agency: Neo-Pangea (developer) · Mechanic: Puzzle · Platform: AR & VR
True-crime channel Oxygen wanted armchair detectives to stop watching and start investigating, says its award entry. The iOS app, built on Apple's ARKit, projected a life-size crime scene into the player's room; players walked round it, matched blood samples and fingerprints, traced bullet trajectories, heard alibis and hung a suspect board on a real wall (Shorty Awards). The case was the shooting of Nashville musician Trent Park, with four suspects and a seven-minute countdown (Oxygen).
Result: The app reached number two in the Entertainment category within eight weeks, behind Netflix, and drew over 700 App Store ratings with a 4+ average; Apple featured it twice in the Today tab, according to Oxygen's Shorty Awards entry. It is no longer available.
Baby Laser Tag — The Boys (2020)
Agency: AKQA, Jam3 · Mechanic: Arcade & Action · Platform: AR & VR
Amazon Prime Video built momentum for season two of The Boys with a scene fans knew from season one: Billy Butcher using a superhero baby's laser vision as a weapon (AKQA). The iOS and Android app scanned the player's room and turned it into a Vought storage room; holding the laser-eyed baby, players blasted Vought agents and members of the Seven and tried to survive as long as possible, then took blood-spattered selfies (Collider).
Result: 42,000+ downloads, a 4.9 app store rating and 966 million impressions for the campaign, according to AKQA; the agency gives no period or channel split.
Command The Stack — U.S. Air Force (2021)
Agency: GSD&M, We Are Royale (production) · Mechanic: Simulation & Strategy · Platform: AR & VR
The U.S. Air Force and its agency GSD&M commissioned an AR flight game, planned as recruiting outreach for a post-pandemic future (We Are Royale), to spark a passion for flight among future airmen (LBB, via the Wayback Machine). Players find a flat space and place a 3D holographic table with three layers, modelled on the Air Force tactic called the Stack. At launch up to three players could share the layers: strategy on top, dogfights in the middle, ground support at the bottom (We Are Royale); a 2026 update removed multiplayer (App Store). Missions last about 10 to 15 minutes and a daily leaderboard ranks scores and flight hours in real time (Ads of Brands).
Result: We found no published download or session figures. The app is still listed on the App Store and Google Play (checked 2 November 2026). More recruiting games are in our recruitment games guide.
Which AR games send people into the street?
A location-based game ties the AR to a real place, so the hunt itself is the media.
Trophy Hunt — Premier League (2023)
Agency: ROSE, with Doppelgänger · Mechanic: Adventure & Quest · Platform: AR & VR
For its first US Summer Series, 22 to 30 July 2023, the Premier League hid 20 virtual trophies, one per club, at well-known spots in each of five host locations: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey and Maryland. Fans scanned a QR code from the microsite, and every trophy found improved their odds of winning VIP match tickets or signed shirts; the city's finds also climbed an online scoreboard. It ran on 8th Wall's engine (Marketing Dive).
Result: A 95% completion rate on sweepstakes entry forms, 47 seconds of engagement per session and just over four trophies placed per participating user in the host cities, according to ROSE's Shorty Awards entry.
Nine AR marketing campaigns at a glance
| Campaign | Brand | Year | Where the AR lives | Headline result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victory Mode | Nike | 2024 | Snapchat lens | 23 million paid impressions |
| BRICKTACULAR | LEGO | 2024 | Snapchat lens, Spectacles | Over 1 million creations |
| WebAR PAC-MAN Box | Pizza Hut | 2021 | Browser, from the box | 11,260 hours played |
| Beamin' Up | Urban Decay | 2022 | Browser, from the palette | Not published |
| Unlock Your Fandom | Kinder | 2025 | Browser, from the egg | Not published |
| Forensic Detective | Oxygen | 2018 | iOS app | No. 2 in Entertainment in 8 weeks |
| Baby Laser Tag | The Boys | 2020 | iOS and Android app | 42,000+ downloads (agency) |
| Command The Stack | U.S. Air Force | 2021 | iOS and Android app | Not published |
| Trophy Hunt | Premier League | 2023 | Browser, at landmarks | 95% form completion |
What makes AR playable rather than decorative?
A goal the camera serves. In every campaign above the camera view carries the game: Pac-Man needs the printed maze, Oxygen's case needs the room to walk round, LEGO's bricks sit on a real table.
A score or a hunt. Leaderboards turned Pac-Man and Victory Mode into contests; the Trophy Hunt made each find a better chance in the draw. Baby Laser Tag needed only one rule: survive as long as you can.
A reason to come back. Command The Stack ran a daily leaderboard and opened new objectives and aircraft as players progressed; BRICKTACULAR opened new challenges as builds were finished.
A hand-off at the end. Victory Mode led players to Nike stores and events, Trophy Hunt to an entry form with a 95% completion rate. Pack-led WebAR can sell before it plays: Pac-Man needed the printed box lid and Kinder's puzzle opened from the code inside the egg.
Where do AR campaigns go wrong?
- Download friction. An app has to earn a place on the phone. Baby Laser Tag and Command The Stack launched with a TV season and a recruiting campaign, each with its own media behind it. For a one-off promotion, WebAR from the pack removes the store step.
- Device limits. Forensic Detective was iOS-only, built on ARKit's wall detection, so Android owners were left out (Next Reality).
- Platforms that change the rules. Pac-Man, Beamin' Up and Trophy Hunt all ran on 8th Wall. Its platform access ended on 28 February 2026; published projects keep running until 28 February 2027 (8th Wall). On Meta's apps, AR effects built by third parties, brands included, stopped being available on 14 January 2025, when Meta Spark closed (Meta). Ask who hosts the game, for how long, and whether you can export it.
- A game that ends with the campaign. Most of these nine can no longer be played. Record the gameplay at launch, or the case film will be all that is left.
FAQ
Can you give me an example of an AR app?
Oxygen's Forensic Detective was an iOS app that projected a life-size crime scene into the player's room and gave them seven minutes to solve it. The Boys' Baby Laser Tag turned a living room into a Vought storage room to fight in, and the U.S. Air Force's Command The Stack put a three-layer battle table on the floor, at launch for up to three players.
What does AR mean in marketing?
AR stands for augmented reality: graphics laid over the live camera view of the real world. In marketing it lets a brand put something into the customer's own space, such as a game on a pizza box, a trophy at a landmark or a character in the living room. It reaches people through an app, a browser link or QR code (WebAR), or a social lens. See our AR game definition.
How is AR used in marketing campaigns?
Mostly in four places. Pack codes open browser games, as on Pizza Hut's Pac-Man box and in Kinder Joy eggs. Social lenses run games inside Snapchat, such as Nike's Victory Mode. Brand apps carry longer games, and location hunts send fans to real places, like the Premier League's Trophy Hunt in five US host locations.
More camera games that brands built are in the AR in the wild collection and the AR and VR facet; if your studio made one, send it to us.