As a father of young children, Eoin O’Reilly knows that the plastic toys handed out by fast-food restaurants do not get much use. “They play with them for 30 seconds and then they’re thrown down or left in the car,” he says.
O’Reilly, the marketing manager of Eddie Rocket’s, reckoned an augmented-reality (AR) alternative was a “no-brainer”. Not only could it provide more entertainment, but it would not end up in landfill.
Last month the diner business launched AR collector cards for children. Users scan a QR code on a card to download an app, which allows them to point their phone at the card to see the characters on it come to life in 3D. The animations include a dinosaur running across the diners’