By simply pointing their mobile phones at blotchy black-and-white newspaper ads, consumers could bring to life colorful 3D animals during a campaign by Wellington Zoo in New Zealand.

Wellington Zoo set out to bring consumers face to face with animals and spur interest in species endangerment. They deployed a new technology from Human Interface Technology Laboratory in New Zealand produce what they call 'augmented reality' -- special effects -- that seemingly pop animals off the page by using ordinary cameras in mobile phones. The results for the campaign were less than tame: it produced a 30% increase in visitors through the front gates of the zoo.

In the newspaper ads, consumers were given instructions to download a bit of free software to enable their phones to