Blackwell Rum launches branded Augmented Reality experience in partnership with Zappar and 007 film franchise

In Augmented Reality News 

January 20, 2021 – Blackwell Rum has announced its partnership with Zappar and the 007 film franchise to celebrate the highly anticipated 2021 release of the 25th James Bond film ‘No Time To Die’. As part of the release, Chris Blackwell, Island Records founder and owner of James Bond author Ian Fleming’s former ‘GoldenEye’ residence, is launching a special 007 limited edition bottle of his Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum. 

By scanning the bottle’s barcode, users can launch an augmented reality (AR) experience via a custom web domain, where they will see Chris Blackwell appear in front of the bottle on a virtual island, from which he talks about everything from his life stories, personal music selections, cocktail recipes and more.

Chris Blackwell, Co-Founder and CEO of Blackwell Rum, commented: “During my career, I have worked in lots of different media and the storytelling potential of augmented reality is just fantastic. Zappar’s technical know-how and creativity have combined in our augmented reality experience that I’m sure will put a smile on the face of Blackwell Rum drinkers around the world. The feedback from the first glimpse that we gave during Notting Hill Carnival was phenomenal and I’m sure the special edition 007 bottle will have even more of an impact.”

The experience has been created by Zappar, which provides users with its platform and creative studio that allows for the creation of AR experiences. The company’s self-serve tools and creative consultancy help to enable companies and brands to deploy customizable AR solutions to the mobile web and native apps.

Blackwell added: “James Bond has been a big part of my life, from my childhood lunches with Ian Fleming at GoldenEye to being a location scout on the first movie, Dr. No (1962).”

Zappar stated that the connection between Blackwell’s personal interwoven history with the Bond legacy and the story of Blackwell Rum have been brought to life through augmented reality.

The launch of No Time To Die was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and is now slated for release in theatres on April 2, 2021. The Blackwell Rum AR experience is available now for fans to try. 

For more information on Zappar’s augmented reality platform and services for brands, please visit the company’s website.

Image credit: Zappar

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.