Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Viewers Not Impressed With Augmented Reality Balloons

Despite all the challenges presented in 2020, it isn't stopping the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. [...]

By Matthew Aguilar

Despite all the challenges presented in 2020, it isn't stopping the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. That said, things are a bit different this time around, as the crowds that are normally in attendance are instead watching all the parade activities from their homes, though that's not the only difference. Fans who are watching the various streams of the Parade have like noticed that some of the balloons are not physical balloons, but instead augmented reality balloons, and while there are some positive reactions, many aren't thrilled with how they look onscreen, leaving with a rather negative impression, and you can find some of the bigger reactions below.

They aren't close enough to the real balloons to be seamless, especially in the bigger examples, and some fans just aren't digging it. They much prefer the traditional physical balloons, which thankfully still make up most of the balloons at the parade.

Here are some of the reactions coming in.

"It is this weird uncanny valley version of the parade. Filmed in advance over three days with augmented reality nonsense instead of actually balloons? Hosts trying to pretend they are still presenting to a large crowd. Just very jarring and altogether unpleasant."

"and these augmented reality balloons lmao PLZ STOP 🤣😅"

"YOUR AUGMENTED REALITY BALLOONS DO NOT MAKE ME FEEL THINGS LIKE THE SOUNDS OF BAGPIPES DO."

"folks they are animating huge ugly fake balloons that look like they were ripped from the Spider-Man movie game on PS2 and calling it "Verizon's Augmented Reality""

"Augmented reality balloons. "Welcome to the future" #MacysParade"

It seems many still prefer the physical balloons, but the good news many are enjoying the performances and all the floats.

What did you think of the AR Balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Let us know in the comments!

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