The Weekend Australian Magazine has launched an immersive multimedia cover, created in collaboration with social media giant Snap.
The interactive experience brings the social media platform’s augmented reality (AR) experience of the Louvre’s Egypt Augmented experiences to readers as part of the publication’s final issue of 2023, “The Hot List”, on sale this Saturday, 16 December.
Readers can use their phone camera to scan the QR code on this Saturday’s print cover to unlock a second digital cover with a bespoke AR experience that interacts seamlessly with the physical edition and transports readers to the Louvre.
In the Weekend Australian Magazine’s AR cover, readers will discover a moving, digital construction of the 222-ton granite obelisk de la Concorde in the Cour Carrée, brought to life via Snapchat’s immersive augmented reality technology.
Egypt Augmented was a collaboration between Snap’s Paris-based AR Studio and the Musée du Louvre that showcased a series of innovative and educational augmented reality experiences designed to be enjoyed on-site at the Department of Egyptian Antiquities and the museum’s famous square courtyard.
Elizabeth Colman, editor at The Weekend Australian Magazine, said the partnership with Snapchat was an opportunity for the publication to deliver a spectacular final issue of the year.
“The bringing together of Egyptian antiquities with cutting-edge technology at the Louvre is a fascinating story, and being able to exclusively offer our readers a taste of this magic with the nation’s first Snapchat AR cover is testament to our focus on creating innovative, compelling ways to delight and engage our growing national audience,” she added.
Tony Keusgen, managing director of Snap Inc. Australia and New Zealand, said: “It’s been inspiring to collaborate with the team on this deeply immersive AR cover moment, our first in Australia, which will transport Aussies to Paris through the magazine and Snapchat, this weekend.”
The cover will appear in the December edition of The Weekend Australian Magazine and will be published in The Weekend Australian this Saturday.