Feeding America® and the Ad Council, in partnership with Niantic 8th Wall, Sawhorse Productions, and Flowcode, today launched a new augmented reality (AR) experience designed to raise awareness about hunger in the United States. Starting today, the public can access the immersive web-based augmented reality (WebAR) experience, exploring true stories and statistics about the impact of food on people’s lives, and how they can join the movement to end hunger.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 44 million people, including 13 million children, live in food insecure households in the United States. In 2022, 1 in 6 people turned to charitable food systems for assistance.

The new experience is an extension of the Ad Council and Feeding America’s successful “Full Effect” PSA campaign that first launched in June 2023 and highlights what is possible in a world without food insecurity. With this new WebAR experience, people can connect to Feeding America’s mission of ending hunger in an immersive way and explore different ways to take action, including donating, volunteering at their local foodbank or advocating. The experience was built on 8^th Wall’s platform that powers web-based augmented reality experiences without the need for an app, making it accessible to anyone that has a smartphone. A preview is available here.

“This immersive and interactive WebAR experience brings our emotional Full Effect campaign to life in a new, innovative way” said DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer at the Ad Council. “We’re thankful for our partners at Niantic 8^th Wall, Sawhorse Productions, and Flowcode who are helping us raise mass awareness of this critical issue. By harnessing the power of WebAR technology, we’re enabling individuals to join the movement to end hunger.”

“There is still work to be done to ensure that the 44 million people in the United States who face hunger receive the food they need to thrive,” said Jennifer Polk, Chief Marketing & Digital Experience Officer for Feeding America. “This new interactive experience will help us visualize how access to nutritious food is essential for each of us to reach our full potential and reminds us that we can all help to create positive change in our communities to ensure that no one goes hungry in America.”

This continuation of the “Full Effect” campaign will be promoted through digital, social, printed OOH and rideshare advertising. Niantic 8th Wall, Sawhorse Productions, and Flowcode will help to ensure the new activation drives impact. Niantic 8^th Wall is donating the technology powering the experience to be live for the coming year. Sawhorse Productions developed the concept and produced the WebAR experience and promotional video asset. Flowcode developed a branded QR code as well as custom creative assets for use across all media channels in addition to enterprise-level analytics enabling precise measurements of ad efficacy across all media placements. To ensure this WebAR experience reaches intended audiences, additional support is being provided by Ad Fuze / Fuze Technology, Dailymotion Advertising, Google and YouTube, Intersection, Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), Reddit, Uber, and The Weather Channel.

The WebAR experience is accessible via QR code or at FullEffect.FeedingAmerica.org – with no app required – encouraging users to join the movement to end hunger in America at FeedingAmerica.org/ActNow.