It may seem incredible to many, but the fact is that food giants like Coco-Cola and McDonald's are trying to entice more customers not with their products, but with innovative packaging. Recently, both these companies have released their products in special cardboard packaging that can be folded to make virtual reality (VR) goggles!
For instance, one can fold the cardboard packaging of 12-packs of Coke products to convert it into VR goggles, which will hold a smartphone - something akin to the manner in which Google Cardboard works. It is very simple and all that the user needs to do to get a pair of Coke-themed VR goggles is cut the cardboard packaging with something sharp and bind the loose sides with tape for added structural integrity.
With the growing popularity of VR, apparently more and more non-technical companies are opting for the new media, perhaps with a view to substitute some of its advertisement expenditure. The only difference between the McDonald's and Coca-Cola goggles is that while the former is accompanied by a game app, as of now, the latter is devoid of any app, Mashable reported.
Currently, Coca-Cola is exploring ways to enter the Cardboard headset market and has already developed a few options to convert its packaging into viewers.
While these new packaging inventions are yet to arrive on the shelves of supermarkets, the video launched by Coca-Cola demonstrates three different options of converting their packaging into viewers. The three methods by which one can convert the Coca-Cola package into a viewer are based on getting the cardboard in the exact shape. The first method, called "Origami" has two punch-out pieces on the side of the package that can be assembled easily by folding it and placing pre-made tabs into punched-out gaps.
Meanwhile, McDonald's has rolled out a trial version in Sweden which converts its iconic Happy Meal box into a VR headset. The inventive packaging has been dubbed Happy Goggles and the trial was launched along with a ski-themed VR game titled "Slope Stars." The company plans to release 3,500 such headsets in 14 restaurants all over Sweden over the weekends of March 5 and 12, Packaging News reported.
Watch how the Coca-Cola and MacDonald's goggles work in the videos below:
