Mumbai, India – Ferrero’s confectionary brand Kinder has partnered with interactive family entertainment destination KidZania is all set to enter the world of Metaverse with Natoons Metaverse Safari, this World Animal Day on October 4, with the aim to drive learning around animals in a unique way.

The companies are introducing an immersive metaverse experience for children to celebrate World Animal Day and understand its importance. To experience the metaverse zone, visitors can put on VR headsets and go on a Natoons Safari in the Metaverse and learn about animals in a unique way. 

The Metaverse Safari will showcase animals such as porcupine, whale, blue macaw, otter, tortoise and many more in their natural habitat. Kids will also have an opportunity to take photos in the experience.

Additionally, the phygital experience through the AR feature on the free Applaydu app, will further amplify the fun experience. The first Metaverse journey of Kinder Joy will be inaugurated in Delhi and Mumbai on 1st October and will continue till 9 October in Delhi up until 17 October in Mumbai.

Amedeo Aragona, regional marketing manager for Indian subcontinent for Kinder Brands at Ferrero said, “With our entry into the world of Metaverse, we wanted to engage children into learning more about animals while having fun. It is our constant endeavour to consistently find new and innovative ways to nurture the imagination and creativity of children through novel content, based on new technology platforms. Metaverse is one such initiative that drives children to learn, build, and explore exciting themes”.

Meanwhile, Prerna Uppal, chief partnership officer at KidZania India commented, “At KidZania we are always looking forward to the future. We did that by creating a one of its kind multi-sensory Kinder Joy Treat Factory experience that brings alive the joy of manufacturing everyone’s favourite treat. We are extremely excited for adding another innovative dimension to our partnership with Kinder Joy by creating a truly unique environment – “The Natoons Metaverse Safari”. Through this hybrid experience not just kids but even young parents will have fun, learn about animals and values of respecting nature & all its creatures – a truly inventive celebration for World Animals Day”.

Manila, Philippines – It’s that time of year again: the Christmas holidays. And with the upcoming Yuletide season, there is also a rich variety of holiday-themed ads. From straight-up ads that communicate the brand with a Christmas twist to ads that execute brand storytelling, here are the most emotionally engaging holiday ads this year, according to global video and connected TV programmatic advertising platform Unruly.

  1. Disney: The Stepdad

The latest global Christmas campaign by the global entertainment company, the ad is a heartwarming story focused on a stepdad and his family, and their everyday life towards celebrating Christmas. The ad, laced with references to Disney characters coming to life, scored 46.6% positive emotional engagement. 

  1. Goldilocks: Celebrate Christmas with Goldilocks

This simple 30-second spot by Philippine-based bakery chain Goldilocks invites viewers to order their upcoming Christmas dinner platter from the chain, where they serve not only pastries but also full-on meals. Said ad garnered 37.0% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Lady’s Choice: Have a Safe and Meaningful Reunion with a Lady’s Choice Creamy Sweet Macaroni Salad!

Mayonnaise brand Lady’s Choice shows in this 15-second spot on enjoying Christmas with one of their recipes: a sweet macaroni salad: staple across Christmas dinners. This ad got 35.9% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Foodpanda: We Gotchu This Christmas!

A true modern Christmas tale: what happens when Santa Claus himself can’t get the deliveries done? In this 45-second spot, foodpanda decided to take a modern twist of the famous ‘Rudolf, The Red-Nosed Reindeer’ into their delivery riders. The ad garnered 35.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Lazada: Grand Christmas Sale na this Dec 12-14!

This latest ad from the Philippine arm of e-commerce platform Lazada goes by the tune of the known Christmas carol ‘Deck The Halls’: only with a modern twist and Lazada references. This ad, which focuses on the platform’s upcoming Christmas sale and features local ambassadors, has garnered a 31.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Kinder: Share the Christmas Joy with Kinder

A 15-second spot filled with Christmas joy, this ad by chocolate brand by Kinder on sharing the Christmas joy to kids has garnered 26.0% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Cadbury: Cadbury Dairy Milk Christmas

Another chocolate ad on the list, this one with Cadbury, invites viewers to consider gifting their loved ones with a custom Cadbury gift. The ad has recorded 23.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Dunkin’ Donuts: Merry Munchkin

Last but not the least: this campaign featuring Philippine P-pop group SB19 greets viewers a happy holiday, and considering the donut chain to be a part of their Yuletide festivities. Said ad has garnered 18.8% positive emotional engagement.

Speaking about how these ads made an impact this holiday season, Greg Fournier, senior vice president for global strategy at Unruly said that it is important more than ever for brands and advertisers to better understand how their ads will resonate with audiences, and how effective they are at driving key business metrics like brand recall, purchase intent and brand favorability.

“In times of continued uncertainty and evolving consumer habits, brands have been able to develop creative and imaginative advertisements – many have also chosen to depart from overt COVID-19 themes and instead depict new-normal ways of life. Notably, brands have also chosen to reflect diversity in their ads this year – not just ethnically but also generationally – with characters and families from all walks of life and ages.”

He added, “On the flip side, ads that lack narrative, without any stories to tell, performed poorly. Ads that lack narration were also less well-received, with consumers finding it harder to understand the messages and relate on an emotional level.”

Singapore – Chocolate brand Kinder, part of the line of confectionery company Ferrero, has launched a new mobile application called ‘Applaydu’ that utilizes augmented reality (AR) to bring Kinder toys to life. 

Since the creation of Kinder, it has been engaging kids with toy surprises inside its egg-shaped packaging, wheretoys may range from toy cars to figurines of animals and characters. Through the application, it aims to deliver kids an immersive new experience. 

The app, dedicated to children from four to nine years old will feature environments, characters, and stories that are thought and built to spark their imagination and stimulate their ability to learn new things. Users of ‘Applaydu’ can enjoy games, interactive stories, activities, and a lot more.

Furthermore, the ‘Applaydu’ mobile app also provides a family-friendly, safe and controlled environment, that is free of ads nor in-app purchases, as well as parental control features such as activities report and adaptive difficulty to ensure a complete peace of mind for parents. It is designed to be used with the whole family, however, parents can rest assured that appropriate safeguards are in place to guarantee that children can enjoy themselves securely.

“By sparking the imagination of children, and uniting adults and children in play and enjoyment, we believe that Applaydu can play an important role in helping ensure that a happy child today will be a better adult tomorrow,” said Emiliano Laricchiuta, global head of Kinder Products with Surprise.

The app was developed by game developer Gameloft, and has sought the expertise from the Oxford University’s Department of Education in coming up with a set of guidelines to help Kinder’s development of the app, aimed at helping children’s progression by creating and developing a game that utilizes and develops cognitive skills including mathematics, motor skills, reading, and writing, as well as memory.

“We are really proud to partner with Kinder to make this project a reality. It is incredible to bring our 20 years of gaming expertise to the Kinder brand and their beloved toys in order to craft an app that brings a whole new layer of fun to families, by merging physical and digital worlds in order to expand the traditional play experience,” said Alexandre Tan, VP brand partnerships and advertising at Gameloft.

Applaydu can be downloaded now for free from the App Store or from Google Play.