Andes Beer Launches 'Andes Friend Recovery'
03 FEB 2011
Buenos Aires - Following the huge success of the Andes "Teletransporter" in 2009, and the Grand Prix win at the 2010 Cannes Advertising Festival, the No. 1 beer from the Andean region of Argentina has launched ANDES FRIEND RECOVERY (AFR). AFR is a cutting-edge robot with human features, which was installed in the main bars of Mendoza. The AFR enables men to be present at the bar with friends without neglecting their duties as boyfriends; because at the same time, they are with their girlfriends somewhere else.
The AFR was installed in the most important bars of the Mendoza, during October and November 2010. During that time, the Andes Friend Recovery website received over 2 million visits, 5000 of which were "recovered" friends. The campaign was launched on traditional media; TV, OOH and RADIO.
How does it work?
1. Your friends go to a bar and sit at the Andes Friend Recovery table.
2. They ask for a password which is sent to you via an SMS, while you fulfil your boyfriend duties.
3. Wherever you are you have to log in to the AFR page and use the webcam to map your face.
4. Then you appear at the bar, via the Andes Friend Recovery robot.
Technical description.
Andes Friend Recovery is an installation based on TelePresence via video conference. Using interactive facial recognition software, the webcam cuts the face of the person in front of the computer, and applies it exactly inside the robot´s face. The robot sits at the bar, and also uses an audio system to enable hearing and speaking.
And for the experience to be even more authentic, the AFR has the capacity to turn the head, via the computer keyboard. The system offers the user a panoramic view of the situation, as if he were physically present in that location. Also, at the AFR website, any person, without the need of registration, can see live what is going on at the bar and witness the conversations among different friends.
To find out more, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5gD8WIk0es&feature
