Fashion brand Benetton is looking for new models to represent its edgy fashion line and is taking its search online - an endeavor that is also doubling as an augmented reality-infused marketing campaign.
Its global online casting plea, called “It’s My Time”, is on the hunt for every day faces instead of professional models to represent the brand. Online elements of the campaign include interactive features - as well as augmented reality technology that allows viewers to become part of the campaign (via CNN).

Contestants log on to casting.benetton.com, and then print a page that has a black-and-white graphic code. Then the person focuses his or her webcam on the code, and is entered into an animated video with moving images of models.

Benetton is also promoting its search with social media tools including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. The hundred contestants that receive the most votes will then be judged by a panel of experts. Of these, 20 will eventually be selected to fly to New York to participate in a fashion shoot. The contest ends March 16.

Erik Ravelo, creative director of Fabrica, Benetton's in-house communication research center, says the idea originated when the company’s quarterly magazine, Colors, started opening the pages up to global contributors, who sent in their own pictures, stories and ideas via the website. (via Mad Company).

"Showing the democratic face of fashion has always been a key element in Benetton's communication. The very positive feedback we had with the Colors initiative convinced us to go into more depth and conceive something unique," he says.