Samsung collaborates with Thai creators to launch AR wildlife sanctuary

Jan. 24, 2020

Samsung has launched a unique AR experience, titled Samsung SanctuARy via We Are Social Australia. Aimed at raising awareness for some of Thailand’s most threatened and endangered wild animals, the ‘Samsung SanctuARy’ is an augmented reality project that puts the future of Thailand’s endangered animals directly in people’s hands.

16 of the best Thai creators came together to create 10 artistic representations of native endangered species, using the AR Doodle feature on the Galaxy Note10. From a 14yr old up-and-coming talent to established artists, the power of collaboration was harnessed and then leveraged through Facebook Messenger’s augmented reality capabilities.

Edu Pou, ECD of We Are Social, says:

“Collaboration was crucial in bringing our project to life, and not just amongst the artists featured in it. Our team at We Are Social Sydney worked very closely with Samsung Global and Samsung Thailand, Facebook, and the tech wizards at Resn, to lift the work to greater heights.”

 

The campaign has just launched in the heart of the urban jungle, Bangkok, on the lush rooftop garden of Samyan Mitrtown, visited every day by 25,000 people. Visitors are prompted to scan a code to access the AR experience via a Messenger bot. The AR lens then puts the endangered animals in the palm of the users’ hand, enabling them to stand up for what they care about and inspiring them to take action to raise awareness of the plight of these species, and spread the word on social media.

In a world-first, a disappearing face filter was also created for SanctuARy visitors to unlock. They pick the animal they want to embody and share their selfies with their followers. After a few seconds, the filter disappears, further dramatising and mirroring the plight of these animals slowly fading from our planet.