PAPA’S PILAR RUM AR EXPERIENCE

Papa’s Pilar Rum worked with experiential studio Tactic to create a special edition bottle celebrating the 70th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea featuring a special web-based augmented reality experience that triggers from this limited edition packaging.

Papa’s Pilar, named after Ernest Hemingway’s boat, The “Pilar”, is releasing previously unreleased clips of Hemingway that are narrated by Dr. Guy Harvey, a conservationist, and artist, whose sketches illustrate the novel throughout the video. The video is unlocked through a phone camera that opens a web-based Augmented Reality experience on the 2022 Legacy Edition bottle of Papa’s Pilar.

“With the release coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the book it only felt right that we infuse the entire bottle with Ernest Hemingway’s spirit and legacy,” says Kyle Groth, EVP of corporate development and digital strategy for Papa’s Pilar. “The AR experience gives our consumers a front-row seat to what inspires us the most about Hemingway and why we hope to carry on his legacy with this release and each release after that.”

To bring this project to life, the Key West-based distillery teamed up with experiential studio Tactic, which has previously created AR experiences for Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel’s, and 19 Crimes. The release took several months to develop, Groth says. “The experience is built on 8th Wall, the leading web AR platform,” he says. “Between the design, Tactic’s modern touch, and Guy Harvey’s altruism, this is a release we’re proud of from every angle.”

The leather wrap is a nod to Hemingway’s time spent in World War I as an ambulance driver and a war correspondent during World War II. “It’s also meant to elicit that sense of adventure in us all,” Groth says. “The journal and the pen were designed for our patrons to document their own adventures as they draw inspiration from Papa Hemingway and his legacy. It also showcases our story.”

The AR experience features a virtual “book” bound with the same premium materials as the commemorative bottle, with embossed leather and metallic details, as well as the artwork by Guy Harvey himself. Users will see Harvey’s iconic drawings, each with added animation, as well as the narration of Dr. Guy Harvey, alongside vintage photographs of Hemingway on his famous boat. 

“We thought that creating an experience featuring a leather-bound book in AR fit with the look and feel of the special edition bottle, and tied together the product, the packaging, as well as the works of Ernest Hemingway and Guy Harvey into a compelling AR experience that reflected what the brand is about,” says Miguel Diaz-Rivera, Tactic’s Art director and the project’s lead designer.