Volkswagen Canada has launched an out-of-home advertising campaign for its 2012 Beetle, an initiative that uses augmented reality technology to emphasize the vehicle’s performance attributes.

The “VW. Juiced Up” campaign launched late last month in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal and includes billboard and transit shelter executions that incorporate augmented reality, or AR, technology. Consumers who pass these out-of-home ads can download an AR application using their tablets or smartphones, which enables them to watch video animations that show Beetles crashing through transit shelter glass, jumping through billboards or leaping off ramps.

The out-of-home creative, developed by Toronto agency Red Urban, features taglines such as “Same soul. Different shell” and “Forget what you remember.”

Steve Carli, president of Red Urban, said the creative reflects Volkswagen’s decision to highlight the driving experience offered by the Beetle after several years of emphasizing the car’s distinctive design.

“I think they maybe played up the icon part of it a bit much and people were feeling like rather than driving an actual performance car they were sort of driving a little representation of Volkswagen around,” said Carli. “They started to believe there was just a little bit too much focus on the non-driving characteristics of the car and more of the physical design of it, and they wanted to remind people that the Beetle has a great engine in it, it has great performance and is emblematic of German engineering.

“Adding the elements of the AR to the mix helped us to position [the Beetle] as very innovative.”

In addition to the out-of-home creative, the campaign includes a microsite where consumers can download the AR app, and a YouTube video that shows the AR advertising in action.