Buck Brings Nike’s Past, Present and Future to Life for 50th Anniversary AR Store Experience

In celebration of Nike’s 50th anniversary, BUCK partnered with the Nike Global Brand Experience team to bring the brand’s past, present, and future to life in stores globally through a WebAR experience that captures the spirit of DNA (Department of Nike Archives) and supports the future of storytelling within the retail space.

The AR experience is a portal into the DNA archives for visitors to Nike stores. Through the virtual display of culturally-significant artefacts from 11 stories, the experience encourages consumers to engage with Nike’s legacy.

Designing the experience

Using their phone’s QR scanner, users can unlock artefacts using any modern smartphone. Each of the 11 stories comprising the experience is self-contained within a single, virtual box that opens up to reveal an array of artefacts. Visitors can explore the artefacts through touch gestures and the app’s UI.

Accented with orange rims, each box was designed to mimic frosted glass, shrouding the artefact within in mystery - and enticing users to engage with each story.

How does it work?

BUCK optimised 17 3D-scanned assets from Nike’s archives in order to make them compatible for a real-time AR experience on a mobile device.

There are two key technologies working together for the experience: WebAR and Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM).

WebAR allows for lightweight AR experiences that don’t require users to download apps. Everything happens within the web browser on any modern smartphone, creating a low-friction entry point to AR experiences.

SLAM allows objects to be spatially anchored in front of the user. Being able to walk around each artefact as though it were truly present brings a crucial sense of awe and immersion to the experience.