MAGnet #44 1/04/22
Magnet #44
Welcome to the 44th edition of Magnet. In the spirit of April Fool’s you can check out this post from one of our Planners about the best April Fool’s campaigns!
This week we’re discovering how AR technology can be used for good, and the shifting of the fashion landscape into virtual realities. So grab a cuppa and enjoy.
Campaigns for good:
Snap’s ( Snapchat) deaf and hard-of-hearing internal employee group partnered with SignAll- a group of developers and designers- to create AR fingerspelling filters meant to “scale empathy” and better connect deaf and hearing users.
And, in honour of two motion pictures with predominantly deaf casts that were nominated for major awards, the social platform is brought its efforts to the Oscars on Sunday in support of the 400 million-plus people around the world who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The spot was brought to life with the help of directing duo ‘The Mercadantes’, and it depicts a diverse array of hearing and deaf or hard-of-hearing snap users who use American Sign Language (ASL) to spell out the word “Congrats'' on their screens, using Snap’s fingerspelling AR tools. It was the the social network’s first-ever Oscars ad.
The campaign was initially inspired by two Oscar-nominated pictures — CODA, the 2021 drama that became the first Best Picture winner film to feature a predominantly deaf cast. The next film was Audible, the Best Documentary-nominated Netflix picture that chronicles the struggles and triumphs of a football team at Maryland School for the Deaf.
Looking deeper, the ad showcases a Snap augmented reality (AR) Lens, or live filter, that translates users’ signs to written balloon-like letters. The Lenses highlighted in the ad were engineered by Snap’s internal group of deaf and hard-of-hearing employees called the ‘Deafengers’ in conjunction with SignAll. Bringing together machine learning, computer vision and natural-language processing algorithms, SignAll created the artificial intelligence that undergirds a range of Lenses equipped with hand-tracking technology.
And these Lenses were designed not only to support hard-of-hearing and deaf users, but also to encourage hearing users to learn and engage with friends through ASL.
The effort is part of Snap’s broader mission to “scale empathy through education,” with a dedicated focus on leveraging the Snap Camera for good. The company sees AR as an especially promising frontier and by innovating its AR offerings, the social platform aims to advance social good.
Snap’s fingerspelling Lenses can now be accessed through Snapcode or by searching for terms like ‘Fingerspell Username’, ‘Random Words’ or ‘Randomizer Fingerspelling’ in the Lens Explorer tab on Snapchat.
Events: ITV's Concert for Ukraine- Donations of £4m in advertising revenue
Advertisers were set to donate about £4m during ITV’s Concert for Ukraine, which was live last night. The event is the result of a combined effort from ITV, STV, and Livewire Pictures- with all advertising revenue given to the Disasters Emergency Committee, Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Initially an idea pitched by Livewire to ITV, the price for an ad spot during the concert was raised to a higher level than normal. The price remained fixed, regardless of the number of people who tune in to the programme.
In total, there was 14 minutes of advertising, comprising mainly 30-second spots from brands such as Sky, Disney, and Vodafone. This is a case of brands and the advertising industry coming together in support of an important cause, therefore boosting their credibility to consumers- whilst donating to the cause itself.
Fashion goes virtual:
The first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW), took place March 24-27 on Decentraland and in addition to posing a valuable opportunity for brands to engage with younger consumers, the event also marked a departure for the fashion industry- away from exclusivity, instead heading towards accessibility.
MVFW, was organized in response to the growing demand for virtual clothing that has been surging throughout the fashion world. It was placed in time for the New York and London Fashion Week’s.
One survey recently conducted by Virtue Worldwide found that roughly one in three global respondents had already purchased a piece of digital fashion, and the overwhelming majority (94%) “foresee digital fashion becoming mainstream.”
As we know, many high-end brands, who are keeping their eyes on technological trends and consumer demand, have begun to invest heavily in the metaverse. MVFW featured activations from Dolce & Gabbana, Estée Lauder, Tommy Hilfiger and Forever 21, as well as many more.
Each virtual brand experiences could be accessed during the days by clicking on a link, which included a set of coordinates, on the MVFW homepage.
Then, you’d be sent off to the surreal world of Decentraland . Shopping was a major component of the event, but it wasn’t the only experience that was on offer. There were also panel discussions, “afterparties,” musical performances, interviews with experts and, of course, runway shows.
To a certain extent, MVFW could be viewed as a legitimate effort to “democratize” fashion, rendering a traditionally expensive and exclusive event (Fashion Week) accessible to the countless people who would otherwise be barred by geographic or economic barriers.
