Dark mode themes for mobile apps are all the rage these days, but YouTube is taking that a bit literally with its latest augmented reality experience.
On Monday, to promote the release of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which debuts in US theaters on Friday, Disney released a virtual makeup try-on experience through YouTube.
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Disney tapped makeup artist Promise Phan, whose YouTube channel has amassed nearly six million subscribers, to film a makeup tutorial for viewers to recreate the look of the Mistress of Evil herself.
When viewing Phan's video through the YouTube mobile app for iPhone and Android, viewers can preview three stages of the costume and makeup virtually, including the iconic headdress.
Last month, Disney shared a behind-the-scenes video of the process actress Angelina Jolie goes through to become Maleficent. This, along with the new YouTube tutorial and AR experience, should keep cosplayers busy between now and Halloween.
YouTube announced its new virtual make-up camera effects, available to influencers through the FameBit branded content platform, in June. The first experience through the make-up try-on feature arrived from Mac Cosmetics in August.
With the latest AR experience from Disney, though, YouTube's AR camera shows the potential to branch out into the movie promotion AR arena that Snapchat and Facebook have dominated to date.
Moreover, Google, the parent company of YouTube, has amassed a diverse platform for enabling AR marketing tactics, including its ARCore toolkit for apps and web, AR capabilities for Google Search, and the Playground app for Pixel smartphones. Google has also begun to add AR camera effects to its Duo video chat app. Heck, even walking navigation for Google Maps has the potential for AR advertising.
Now, the question remains whether Google will really lean into AR as a revenue generator, or if it is just a hobby compared to its core business.
Cover image via Walt Disney Studios/YouTube
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