Robert Downey Jr. Joins Snap’s Specs as Chief Customer Experience Officer

[ShawnDK]

Robert Downey Jr. is bringing his real-world star power to augmented reality, joining Snap’s Specs platform as chief customer experience officer.

The Avengers star will work with the Specs team on original content, augmented reality lens experiences, hardware collaborations and other features designed to showcase the technology’s potential.

Specs is Snap Inc.’s augmented reality glasses platform, building on the company’s original Snap Spectacles, which debuted in 2016. The latest iteration is designed to overlay digital images and experiences onto the real world through a lightweight glasses-like device, offering an alternative to bulkier virtual reality headsets.

Downey’s partnership with Specs will launch with a television advertising campaign during tonight’s NBA Tip-Off matchup between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. A second commercial is scheduled to debut during Game 1 of the MLB World Series later this week.

In a statement, Downey compared the technology to the futuristic innovations associated with Tony Stark, the Marvel Cinematic Universe character he famously portrayed.

“Trying is believing. Having tested practically every wearable tech that’s come to market in the last 20 years, and been largely unimpressed, I was absolutely sold on Specs within 40 seconds,” Downey said. “The applications are endless. Families can share experiences instead of hunching over devices, skills can be honed, big business can streamline development. In short, it delivers on the promise of AR glasses made by a certain techno optimist superhero I portrayed. Life imitates art-imitates life!”

The actor also praised the company’s leadership and creative environment, adding, “I’ve never experienced the confident, warm and creatively inviting atmosphere that Evan has cultivated at Specs anywhere else in the tech sector. Wait’ll you see what we create for you to enjoy.”

Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel welcomed Downey to the initiative, emphasizing the actor’s longstanding interest in the possibilities of augmented reality.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Robert Downey Jr. to Specs to help shape the future of augmented reality,” Spiegel said. “Robert has been imagining what this technology could become for nearly twenty years, and it’s an honor to work with him to bring that vision to life.”

The partnership represents another effort by Snap to bring augmented reality into everyday life, using a familiar Hollywood face to introduce consumers to technology that could change how they interact with digital content.