Rimmel London has partnered with Snap to launch an AR geo-takeover experience focused on London’s Tower Bridge, to celebrate the launch of its new Thrill Seeker Pitch Black mascara. The interactive activation enables Rimmel to tap into Snapchat’s 21m monthly active users in the UK, to reach its core demographic of Gen Z and millennial consumers. Snapchatters can transform Tower Bridge into the volumising product by pointing their cameras at the iconic landmark. The multi-product video experience will see the famous towers ‘melt’ into black before transforming into the new Thrill Seeker Pitch Black mascara. This activation follows an already successful OOH positioning from Rimmel earlier this year, that celebrated the beauty brand’s partnership with Maya Jama with a hologauze 3D hologram activation in the same location.

Over the weekend of 19 and 20 August, Rimmel-branded pedi-cab riders armed with Snap codes will be positioned around Tower Bridge, encouraging consumers to scan and interact with the experience, alongside the chance to obtain a sample of the volumising mascara. The alliance with Snap also extends to an interactive in-app AR Lens. Rimmel and Snap will transport Snapchatters to an interactive ‘Rimmel world’, bringing the product to life with a bespoke immersive lens to virtually try on the mascara. In addition to the AR activations, the campaign creative will also run as the first impression for 24 hours within the premium content that lives on Snapchat’s Discover tab.

The campaign is also running across online and OOH channels. It will go live in key London locations that align with Rimmel’s core audience, as well as in digital spaces such as TikTok, Snapchat, Meta, YouTube, Vevo and VOD, on ITVX, C4, Sky, Amazon and Freevee.

Offline, the campaign enables consumers to Live the London Look and experience the full impact of the product, by gaining access to the before and after visuals of the Thrill Seeker Pitch Black mascara through lenticulars lenses placed on London buses. The Pitch Black colouring of the product is also brought to life across impactful placements, including London Underground digital ribbons and digital billoards around London. As part of this, JC Decaux AR D6 “special build” takeovers will sit in both London Westfield shopping centres; the placements’ front and back camera technology is designed to encourage users to engage with the campaign, as they observe the Pitch Black product through the AR screens in real environments.

The high-impact visual experiences for this campaign created by local London-based creative and production studio, Tommy, with media planning and buying by Zenith UK, will run until 30 August.

“This campaign showcases Rimmel tapping into Snap’s young audiences in the most fun and engaging way by harnessing the power of London landmarks, something perfectly on brand for Rimmel,” said Susie Thompson, Media & Communications Senior Director at Coty UK&I. “We’re constantly thinking of new ways to push the creative boundaries for our brands, and this partnership with Snap connects us with this key audience in a such a cool way that we know Snap’s audience will be excited to get involved.”