Belgian Agency Wins for Ray Ban Mobile App

A cute little app made by Belgian agency Gents recently picked up the FWA Mobile of the Day Award. Harking back to the days of the mix tape, the Ray Ban Rewind App let's you scan a physical tape design to unlock a tape and start playing. The layout is very simple, featuring just a few clunky buttons designed to convey the analog mix tape experience. There are some really nice touches though; from the satisfying plastic thunk when you load a tape, to the sped up whirl of music when you fast forward or rewind - rather than simply jumping to the next song. Just like a real mix tape then.

From agency Gents:

We launched the app concept last year to promote the Ray-Ban summer collection. This collection included sunglasses with iconic materials such as velvet, denim, leather, titanium, aluminum, flash lenses, camouflage and steel. Gents made these textures tangible, audible and shareable by creating 8 unique mixtape designs. The mix-tapes were spread on festivals, in print ads and the Ray-Ban flagship stores. This season Gents made 7 new mixtape designs that were spread across the globe as part of Ray-Ban’s #Campaign4Change.

When we really consider it, curated playlists are nothing new, cliché even. But the retro cool factor here coupled with the simplistic design makes it fun and enjoyable to use. I think there's something a little magical about a physical mix tape unlocking a digital mix tape on your phone. I suppose for those of us old enough to remember floppy disks, mix tapes, VHS and CDs, there's an element of nostalgic romanticism. Summarised by Ray Ban: "Rewind x Ray-Ban is an app concept inspired by the mixtape. The charm of sharing for the digital generation." But I do wonder if digital natives who grew up with the USB stick, Limewire and iPhones will feel that same sense of strange enjoyment. I hope so.

Download the Ray Ban Rewind App: https://www.ray-ban.com/rewind

Client—Ray-Ban (Luxottica)
Global Director of Social Media and Digital Innovation—Nathan Gray
Agency—Gents
Account Director—Leen Van der Mijnsbrugge
Creative Director—Tim Helsen
Concept—Tim Helsen
Digital Designer—Thomas Heylen
Print Designer—Martijn Leenaers
Developer—Thomas Heylen