Face to face: Augmented Reality meets music
Declan McKenna AR filters
To celebrate the launch of Declan McKenna’s 2020 album, Zeros, we developed a series of playful and surreal Instagram AR filters that brought fans deeper into his world. Featuring artwork inspired by his Beautiful Faces music video, these filters let users step into Declan’s glitchy, otherworldly aesthetic, transforming their own reality in the process.
Partners
We worked closely with Declan McKenna’s team at Sony Music Entertainment to ensure that the filters perfectly captured the quirky, cosmic essence of his album visuals. With a focus on engagement and shareability, we used the existing visuals provided by the Sony team to create three unique filters, designed to entertain and immerse fans in the Zeros universe.
Frank Fieber handled the album’s photography and creative direction, with the album featuring concept art by himself and Joe Heaton. The album’s graphic design was created by Alex Bois, who also designed the font used for physical editions and promotional material.
A portal into Zeros: The AR experience
Fans could interact with Declan’s world with three exciting filters:
- Selfie filter – A face-morphing effect allowed users to seamlessly transition between their own face and Declan McKenna’s wobbly, distorted head – creating an eerie, mesmerising blend perfect for sharing with friends.
- Album poster filter – Users can watch as Declan’s head pops right out of the AR poster, revealing a portal behind into the world of the Beautiful Faces music video.
- Music video tap-to-place set – This interactive tap-to-place AR scene recreated the surreal landscape of the Beautiful Faces set, allowing users to place it anywhere in the world around them. Fans could walk among floating rocks, drifting clouds, and a towering Declan head, making it feel like they’d stepped straight into the video.
A new era of fan engagement
The Declan McKenna AR filters were more than just digital novelties – they were an extension of McKenna’s artistic identity, giving fans a new way to engage with his music, visuals, and persona. By leveraging Instagram’s AR platform, we created an interactive experience that was highly shareable, encouraging organic fan interaction through Instagram Stories.
This was particularly important as Declan’s Zeros album faced scheduling setbacks due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the release date postponed from May 2020 to August 2020, Declan adopted an ingenious marketing strategy, including a remote performance for Sunday Brunch, in which five Declans appear to perform his track Beautiful Faces.
Zubr’s visually striking filters embrace the wobbly aesthetics of Zeros, accessible with a single tap, ensuring a seamless experience for all fans looking to connect online during the pandemic.
Inventive music promotion
Declan McKenna’s AR Instagram filters demonstrated the power of immersive digital experiences in modern music promotion. By combining technology, visual artistry, and fan interactivity, these filters transformed the album marketing into something fun, personal, and unforgettable.
As the landscape of digital engagement continues to evolve, these kinds of AR experiences pave the way for the next generation of artist-fan interaction – where music is no longer just heard, but experienced in augmented reality.