Veronica Watson Kuc, Horton, Zofia Mackiewicz

Gap x Mattel: Barbie's Times Square Takeover powered by Google's Geospatial Creator

‘Thanks to Google’s Geospatial Creator and Adobe Aero, we were able to create a rich, immersive, interactive AR experience and unveil it in one of the busiest places in the world! AR has an immense potential to revolutionise how we interact with brands and I’m beyond excited to see what the future holds.’

Veronica Watson Kuc, Creative Director, UNIT9

The background

Gap and Mattel wanted to promote their hotly-anticipated Barbie product line with innovation and impact. We collaborated with Google and Adobe to create an immersive augmented reality experience at Gap’s flagship store in Times Square using Google’s pioneering Geospatial technology powered by ARCore and Google Maps Platform.

The execution

The Gap x Barbie activation transformed the iconic Gap storefront into a cinematic 3D experience, drawing shoppers into Barbie’s world. Using Google’s Geospatial Creator powered by ARCore and Google Maps Platform, we brought the store and surrounding skyline to life with Barbie-inspired neon colours, shapes, and graphics – all accessed by scanning a QR code on the store windows. While marvelling at the immersive environment, customers could interact with lifelike 3D Barbie dolls, discover their outfits, and shop the new limited edition Gap x Barbie collection.

Our team used Google’s Geospatial Creator in Adobe Aero to seamlessly integrate 3D content into the heart of Times Square, effectively blurring the boundaries between the virtual world and the real one. Geospatial Creator enabled us to anchor the virtual content to the physical location with pin-point accuracy, creating an immersive shopping experience completely tailored to the user’s surroundings.

We used the ARCore Photorealistic 3D Tiles API to preview what the immersive experience would look like in a digital twin of Times Square. By utilising Adobe Aero’s intuitive interface and functionalities, we were able to rapidly iterate and fine-tune the AR elements for maximum impact.

The results

Tied to one of the world’s most high-traffic areas, the Gap x Barbie AR activation in Times Square certainly made an impact, both with the brands’ fans and passersby.

This project was an amazing opportunity to demonstrate the power of Geospatial Creator as a transformative tool for the retail industry. It opens a world of possibilities for retailers to enhance customer engagement, drive foot traffic to physical stores, and deliver unique and memorable shopping experiences that seamlessly blend the digital and physical realms.

‘Adobe Aero’s software is a simple but powerful pipeline for bringing game assets into AR. From supporting pre-lit models to full-on character animation Aero allowed this deep screen-style experience to become a real-time, interactive, geospatial experience on mobile.’

Horton, Creative Director, UNIT9