Walmart Joins Forces with Marvel's The Avengers to Transform Stores into a Super Hero's Playground

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• Latin America - español

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans of Marvel's The Avengers, prepare for game play! Beginning today, in advance of the film release of Marvel's The Avengers on May 4, only Walmart customers will have access to the Super Hero Augmented Reality (AR) game featuring their favorite Avengers, including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow. This new "Super Hero AR" app is available now for download at the iTunes App Store and Android Market. Once downloaded, customers have instant access to Hawkeye, and only from the aisles of their local Walmart stores, customers can then "unlock" the superpowers of the five remaining Avengers and ultimately save the world.

"Walmart is bringing this summer's most anticipated blockbuster into stores through a first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience which bridges the gap between the physical store and mobile gaming," said Seong Ohm, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for entertainment, Walmart U.S. "We're committed to creating engaging and fun experiences at Walmart, and we've tapped different areas of the store for movie fans to interact with the mobile app while shopping the more than 600 Marvel's The Avengers merchandise available." 

With more than 100 million augmented reality-capable smartphones in operation today¹, Walmart is putting the devices to good use. Customers can use "Super Hero AR" in two modes, Game Mode and Photo Capture Mode. Here is how it works:

Game Mode: Collect All Six Superpowers and Save the World

• Download the "Super Hero AR" App from the iTunes App Store or Android Market that also includes instant access to Hawkeye and his superpowers;
• Visit a local Walmart with your enabled smart device;
• Seek out specific images on Marvel's The Avengers signage located in various departments around the store including apparel, grocery, toys and wireless;*
• Aim your smart devices at the target image to unlock each Super Hero's power;
• Collect the powers of the five remaining Avengers and get a chance to defeat Loki and win the game.

Photo Capture Mode (available for iOS and Android): Take a Photo with Your Favorite Avenger

• Activate "photo capture mode" from an Marvel's The Avengers DVD pallet in-store; a 3-D model of the Super Hero depicted on the DVD pallet will become visible on your phone;
• Take a photo with your favorite Avenger; 
• Share it with friends on Facebook or via email.

"We are happy to have Walmart's tremendous support behind the release of Marvel's The Avengers," said Mark Rhodes, senior vice president of North American Retail Development at Marvel Entertainment. "We are always looking for opportunities to develop unique retail programs with our partners and feel the Super Hero Augmented Reality app enables fans to extend both their shopping and movie experience in an interactive way."

Fans that just can't get enough will have another shot at bringing both Black Widow and Hawkeye to life. They can either visit www.walmart.com/TheAvengers and look for an image of Black Widow to bring her to life, or find a Hawkeye image in the April 29th Walmart newspaper circular and utilize the "Super Hero AR" app to activate the feature.

In addition, beginning on April 26, T-Mobile representatives will help customers navigate the terrain and unlock each Super Hero's power, bringing them one step closer to defeating Loki, and saving the world in the final level of the game. In select stores, the grocery section will also offer shoppers food and beverage samples of Avengers-themed products such as Dr. Pepper, Red Baron Pizza and Hershey's chocolate candies.

Join the Conversation on Twitter:

To celebrate The Avengers debut and the new Superhero augmented reality mobile app, Walmart (@WalmartSpecials) has partnered with Marvel (@Agent_M) and other Marvel influencers to host an exclusive Twitter party for Avengers fans. The discussion will include Avengers trivia and sneak peeks at exclusive content from the app and movie. The party will take place this Thursday, April 26 at 2 p.m. EST and participants will be using the branded hashtag: #AvengersWMT.

For more information on the "Super Hero AR" App visit www.walmart.com/TheAvengers or visit the iTunes App Store or Android Market. To learn more about Marvel's The Avengers visit http://marvel.com/avengers_movie/.

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com, and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.

About Marvel's The Avengers

Marvel Studios presents Marvel's The Avengers—the team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. 

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, directed by Joss Whedon, from a story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon with screenplay by Joss Whedon, "Marvel's The Avengers" is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series "The Avengers," first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when Marvel's The Avengers assemble in summer 2012.

Marvel's The Avengers is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures. The film is being produced by Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Louis D'Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso and Jeremy Latcham. The film releases May 4, 2012, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

About Marvel Entertainment, LLC

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com.  

* In-store signage locations may vary slightly by store.

(1) Juniper Research, Mobile Augmented Reality 1.2.11 http://www.juniperresearch.com/reports/mobile_augmented_reality

SOURCE Walmart