Painting your face to support your favorite team is fun. Actually wearing the hot, sweaty paint is not. Through its mobile app, Toronto FC is offering an augmented reality “TFC Face Paint” experience. It will make it the first Major League Soccer team to offer AR through its official mobile app.
Designed by YinzCam and presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, the experience lets you “paint” your face using an in-app camera. Simply take a picture and choose from one of 10 filters of different paint. From here you’ll have the ability to share the picture (and your team pride) via social media.
“Our fans are passionate about the sport of soccer and this TFC Face Paint feature allows them to express that passion in a creative, new way,” Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment‘s (MLSE) Director of Product Development, Neem Ba Ha, said in a statement. “But this is just the first step in our investment in augmented reality through our partnership with YinzCam. To us, AR is not just an entertainment or gamification piece. We believe AR can also be used to deliver content in new ways and even as a utility to improve the game–day experience for our fans.”
MLSE, Toronto FC’s parent company, is expected to roll out more filters in the coming months and offer customized content.
It’s not the first professional sports franchise to implement AR within its mobile app developed by YinzCam. The Cleveland Cavaliers used AR within its app to have fans activate a virtual pop-a-shot feature. Seattle Seahawks fans could use the team app to plant virtual flags.
And in soccer, FIFA recently enabled fans using Facebook to wear AR face masks.
