3D Gift cards all the rage this Holiday Season
Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a gleaming new hammer or table saw coming straight at you. At least according to Home Depot. For 2009’s holiday season, Home Depot has introduced a new line of plastic gift cards that are webcam enabled, meaning that if you hold the card up to your computer’s webcam, cool things will happen. For instance, you’ll see a virtual preview of featured products that can be bought with the card – as they appear to pop out of the card onscreen. You can see Home Depot’s demonstration of the feature here.
Bridging the gap between the printed page and the web is a technique that’s gaining in popularity. A similar tactic was used last month by InStyle Magazine for their cover featuring Taylor Swift – hold it up to your computer, and prepare to be entertained – interactively.
It’s a smart move, as traditional print media becomes more archaic each year. The addition of “virtual content” entices consumers with an added benefit to buy something in printed form, and it gives companies a way to track consumer behavior offline. Don’t be surprised if this technique becomes widespread in 2010, on newspapers, ticket stubs, DVD boxes, and maybe even breakfast cereals.
I wonder what a virtual Cap’n Crunch would say via webcam. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.