Free UK lifestyle magazine ShortList released its first playable cover yesterday (7 November), using augmented reality app Blippar.

The gaming edition of ShortList features the 1980s classic Chuckie Egg on the front cover which, when scanned, turns into a fully playable version of the game. 

ShortList editor Martin Robinson said: “We’d been planning a gaming special for ShortList… and thought it would make for an exciting magazine first if people could somehow ‘play’ our cover.”

Additional gaming content appears throughout the special gaming issue of the magazine. There is some kind of Blippable content in every story, whether it is a gaming feature or not. 

As reported in The Drum, Blippar CMO Jess Butcher said: “We are so excited about this partnership – not only does it add new dimensions to the world of print media, but it’s never been done before.

"This is taking mobile visual discovery to a whole new level and will become a new way for print media to take back some of the readership that they have lost through the growth of the internet.”

Sister publication, Stylist had already used augmented reality in the Olympic edition in the summer – where synchronised swimmers on the cover were brought to life.  

Readers had to download the Blippar app from the Apple app store or Google Play in order to access the interactive content. 

Posted by 

Smarayda Christoforou

Read more articles about augmented reality in the next issue of the DMA Door Drop newsletter – out on Tuesday 13 November. If you are registered on the DMA website, you can update your preferences here  to receive this free newsletter in your inbox. If you're not registered on the DMA website, you can register for free here.