Imagine wandering through Times Square in New York. To the left, you see One Astor Plaza; to the right, the Hard Rock Café; and right in front of you… Ragnar Lodbrok from History’s “Vikings,” moving about, interacting with you, and posing for pictures.

With new developments in augmented reality, such an encounter has become a plausible scenario, and History, working with the BPG agency, is leading the charge into this bold new digital marketing terrain. The network recently launched a new app, Vikings Ultimate Reality, that gives consumers unique photo opportunities with key “Vikings” characters across more than 200 phone kiosks and bus shelters located throughout New York, and more than 270 movie theater standees nationwide.

“This is the first time anything like this has ever been created,” said Steph Sebbag, president and chief creative officer of BPG. “Traditionally, you’ve seen augmented reality with 3D graphics or animated characters, but no one’s figured out how to do it with a real person.”

Using nearly 70 8K digital cameras shooting simultaneously, mounted 200 degrees around the subjects and 45 degree above them, BPG started by obtaining every possible angle of “Vikings” actors in character. The resulting images could then be “wrapped” into 3D models of the characters and, through a proprietary photorealistic 3D photography technology, converted into an app that brings those characters into the real world.

“The purpose of it is to bring outdoor to life,” said Sebbag. “It’s almost like a virtual standee, where you pull out your iPhone or another device and all of a sudden you get to view a 3D Viking standing there, six feet tall. It’s a great vehicle for HISTORY to promote the new season of “Vikings” because what’s more incredible than having a Viking in the middle of New York City?

Users of the app can approach key art from the show, place the character into their chosen device’s viewfinder, and scan the image, drawing them out for a live meet-and-greet experience. They can then take pictures of themselves with the character and share the photos instantly on social media platforms, or swoop around the Viking in 3D space to study him or her in vivid detail.

“In entertainment, everything is so character-based, that it really makes sense to have the ability for your key art to have this additional layer of coming to life on a digital platform with a mobile device,” said Sebbag. “[It] is a great next step in technology and we’ll definitely be seeing more of it.”

“History is thrilled to be first network launching this innovative ‘Ultimate Reality’ technology,” added Chris Epple, VP of consumer marketing for History, in a statement. “The app is a common thread throughout all touch points of our multi-platform ‘Vikings’ marketing campaign, which will deepen our fans engagement with the series and the fascinating world of the Vikings.”

[Images courtesy of History.]

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