Bath & Body Works Delights Fans with a Festive AR Unboxing Experience

During the holiday season, Bath & Body Works brought festive cheer to life through an innovative AR unboxing experience. The immersive filter, originally launched on Meta platforms, invited users to unbox Bath & Body Works products in augmented reality — blending the excitement of gift-giving with the brand’s signature festive charm.

Since this campaign, Meta has deprecated their AR arm, that being said, this kind of experience can easily be executed as a TikTok Branded Effect or Snapchat Lens.

Bath & Body Works has always been known for its vibrant seasonal campaigns, and this time, the brand took a digital-first approach to storytelling. The AR experience allowed users to virtually “unwrap” a Bath & Body Works gift box, revealing delightful products and holiday visuals — all within their smartphone camera view.

This interactive concept not only mirrored the brand’s joyful gifting experience but also encouraged organic sharing as users captured and shared their festive unboxing moments with friends and followers across platforms.

Key highlights of the AR campaign:

• Festive Unboxing Interaction: Users could tap to open a beautifully wrapped Bath & Body Works box in AR.
• Immersive 3D Elements: Holiday-themed visuals, sparkles, and product animations brought the experience to life.
• Cross-Platform Deployment: While launched on Meta, the AR effect can be easily adapted for TikTok and Snapchat, ensuring wider reach.
• Enhanced Engagement: The interactive format encouraged replayability, user-generated content, and social sharing.

Unboxing has long been a key content format in digital marketing — a ritual that sparks curiosity and joy. By translating this experience into augmented reality, Bath & Body Works gave fans a hands-on digital experience that evoked the same excitement of opening a real gift.

This campaign is a perfect example of how brands can:

• Leverage immersive tech to celebrate seasonal moments.
• Engage audiences interactively rather than passively.
• Drive brand love and recall through shareable, personalized experiences.

As social AR continues to evolve, campaigns like this show how brands can use augmented reality not just as a novelty, but as a meaningful engagement tool that turns digital interactions into lasting emotional connections.