ÜberQuell: Bambule Pils With Augmented Reality on the Label

A beer label has only a few square inches of space. Name, style, mandatory information, plus a design that stands out on the shelf. There is hardly any room left for the story behind the beer. So for the Hamburg brewery ÜberQuell, we turned the label of the new Bambule Pils into the entrance to a world of its own: scan it with your smartphone, and the brewery’s Bambule world appears in augmented reality right next to the bottle.

At a glance

• Client: ÜberQuell Brauwerkstätten, a brewery with a restaurant in the historic Riverkasematten in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district
• Occasion: the launch of Bambule Pils in April 2022
• Goal: launch the new pilsner with an experience people talk about, and show the brand’s character beyond the label
• Solution: an augmented reality experience that recognizes the label and brings the mascot and the Bambule world to life next to it
• Devices: smartphones, in the browser, no app
• Implementation: all technical development by VRtual X, together with the design agency Rocket & Wink, which among other things designed the Bambule Pils glass

What happens when you scan

The QR code on the label opens the experience in the browser. The camera starts, and the experience recognizes the label as a marker. As soon as it finds it, Johnny the ringmaster, ÜberQuell’s high-spirited mascot, stands next to the bottle. He is animated, talks to you, and leads you into the Bambule world: a colorful collage of the brand’s imagery unfolds around the label.

Because the content is anchored to the label, it stays on the bottle even when you move the smartphone or get closer.

According to the brewery, Bambule Pils was the first German beer with its own augmented reality experience. The experience is still running: if you have a bottle in front of you, scan the label and meet Johnny yourself. In the video, Matthias Wolk of VRtual X presents it.

Why no app

Nobody downloads an app for a beer. Every extra step between curiosity and experience loses people, especially over a beer at the bar. That is why the experience runs as WebAR directly in the smartphone’s browser: scan the QR code, allow the camera, and you are in. New content can be added at any time, without anyone having to install or update anything.

What the label does for the brand

ÜberQuell stands for a colorful mix of rock ’n’ roll, street art, and the Port of Hamburg. Bambule Pils carries that attitude in its name alone. The label can only hint at it, augmented reality gives it room:

• The packaging becomes a medium. Every bottle sold carries access to the experience, with no extra advertising space.
• The brand gets a character. Johnny the ringmaster makes ÜberQuell personal and recognizable.
• The experience gets shared. If Johnny is standing on your table, you show him to the people around you.

What carries over

The principle works with any packaging and any printed product: beverages and food, cosmetics, toys, catalogs, posters, or trade show materials. The label or packaging is recognized, and next to it appears what has no room on paper: a character, a product in 3D, instructions, or a small game. Since everything runs in the browser, a QR code is all it takes.

Find more examples and use cases on our page about augmented reality.