Breakfast cereal box is a 3D game console!

No longer the stuff of science fiction, augmented reality (AR) is fast catching on with forward-thinking brands.

This growing trend has led brands to conjure up useful ways to integrate AR within their campaigns, with mobile playing a very big part.

Augmented reality (AR) is the process of superimposing digital information or objects onto real-time video streams in order to create the illusion that they are part of the physical scene.

The latest AR application being Nestle’s Chocopic cereal box being turned into a 3D game console for the film 'Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard'. The film and the cereal box will roll out across Europe, starting in France next month.

The game itself is fairly simple – a variation of the hand-held maze games requiring the player to manoeuver ballbearings in to a hole. Achieving that has a rather spectacular effect in the AR version, as shown off in this video released below.

Still for many, AR remains little more than a gimmick, but the campaigns shared in the below links show it can be much more. Here is a top 10 list from Revolution Magazine:

• Top ten campaigns so far
• Top ten campaigns so far (part two)