SEALED WITH A BURBERRY KISS

At this year’s Cannes Lions, Burberry and Google unveiled their digital project, "Burberry Kisses", which lets you send personal messages to loved ones that are sealed with your actual kiss.

Pucker up in front of your webcam, and see it captured with real-time image processing. Or, on mobile, kiss your phone or tablet to see your lips virtually transformed. Then, dress it up in a Burberry lipstick shade if you want, and your kiss is ready to send along with a note.

Watch as your letter travels across the world in a 3D landscape, passing familiar landmarks, skylines, and streets. You can even kiss and tell by sharing the kiss and its journey.

All the kisses being sent around the world can be seen in a real-time interactive map thanks to WebGL.

The project is part of a series of experiments to re-imagine advertising called "Art, Copy & Code," which aims to "humanise technology" through emotive digital experiences

Google and digital agency, Grow, partnered with the British fashion brand "to re-imagine how brands can deliver beautiful, emotional experiences across different devices and screens, while reaching a key audience – millennial customers," sayss Google’s Aman Govil, the project lead of Art, Copy & Code.

"The goal was to accomplish this through the lens of beauty products, while still delivering a luxury experience in a digital environment."

This is the first time Google are using HTML5, WebGL and dynamic creative in a lightbox ad, showing the creative possibilities within a large canvas.

"Built using HTML5, the Kisses experience is delivered across display ads, web and mobile," explains Aman.

"Modern browser technologies, like WebGL, CSS3, 3D transforms and WebP, allowed us to build a rich experience without compromising performance or requiring custom plugins, or apps. These same open web technologies are allowing brands to deliver magical creative experiences at scale, in a true ‘build once, run everywhere’ fashion."

Dynamic image processing, based on location, adds unique details to the user experience. Google Earth was used to capture skylines for the 3D landscape you see once you’ve sent your message. More realism is added to every kiss’s journey by reflecting dynamic StreetView images, such as local landmarks, into puddles on a city street.

"A kiss seemed like a natural focus for this project because it is one of the most iconic symbols of human interaction. By creating a personal-yet-shareable experience that appeals to millennials, it builds a connection to the Burberry brand, without feeling like a traditional ad."

Send a message using Burberry Kisses.

Video: Burberry "Burberry Kisses" by Google