Fun Facebook masks launched to promote new Paddington Bear movie

Everyone's favourite marmalade-loving bear, Paddington, is at the centre of a new promotional campaign that incorporates Facebook's innovative augmented reality camera.

Ahead of the release of Paddington 2 in cinemas tomorrow (Friday November 10th), StudioCanal has teamed up with digital agencies Cake and Fullsix media to create image filters that can be applied to Facebook users' photos to turn them into Paddington Bear himself.

Speaking to the Drum, Jamie McHale, digital marketing manager at StudioCanal, commented: "Paddington is loved by kids, their parents and grandparents, and Facebook's augmented reality camera allows us to make the story come alive for children of all ages."

The marketers behind the campaign hope people will share the images of themselves wearing Paddington Bear's distinctive blue duffel coat and bright red rainhat across social media to drum up extra interest in the movie.

Image filters are fast becoming an increasingly popular mode of advertising for brands, particularly across Snapchat. However, now Facebook has the capacity for augmented reality images too, there's more competition for the most innovative campaigns using this tech.