Call it the Sup-AR Bowl?
Super Bowl LII had a distinct look and feel from inside Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Philadelphia Eagles upset the New England Patriots. Augmented reality apps, 3-D replays and an app for in-seat concession ordering dazzled the crowd not only during the game but during commercial breaks and downtime. And there were plenty of tech-themed ads, such as an AI-inspired spot from Sprint (S), giant robots from Intuit (INTU), Amazon.com (AMZN) spoofing Alexa, and the YouTube-sponsored pregame show courtesy of Alphabet (GOOGL).
Virtex Arena created AR football games for those inside the stadium. Online bank Ally Financial (ALLY) introduced a game that encouraged customers with high-interest savings accounts, to save money.
Those who wanted to view their seats before purchasing tickets that averaged about $3,200 on Thursday, could do so through an AR view of the stadium. An app from Silicon Valley's VenueNext offered mobile ticketing, in-seat concession ordering and instant-replay videos.