At least that's the word from Wired (by way of adverblog), which reports today that Adidas will launch a line of five new sneakers this next year that will enable users to access an augmented reality world by holding said sneakers up to their webcams.

“The foundation of augmented reality lies in adding a layer to the real world,” Chris Barbour, head of digital marketing for Adidas Originals, tells the pub. “That’s what we have done. We have taken a real world item and added a fantastic virtual world on top of that”

After the official launch, Adidas will work with game developer xForm to create augmented reality games that will employ the sneakers and both key and game controller for the experiences. 

In my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (Amacom Books, May 2010), I look at the growing use of augmented reality by major brands - and how it will move beyond mere gimmickry to compelling experiences that engage consumers as never before possible.

Check out the book here.

And check out the Adidas initiative, here.

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BRANDING UNBOUND WAS JUST THE BEGINNING:

>>> CLICK HERE FOR A FIRST LOOK <<<