The Cleveland Cavaliers gave away Nike-branded silicone bands that were designed to activate a “first-of-its-kind championship ring augmented reality experience” through the team’s app so that fans attending the season opener could virtually wear the rings.
“WELCOME BACK, CHAMP!” read the message accompanying the free silicone bands for fans attending Tuesday’s game that celebrated the Cavaliers’ first NBA championship.
But some of the bands failed to work, and fans who wanted the virtual experience winded up sharing sad photos on social media instead.
@cavs so this isn’t what I expected when trying the ring experience on your app. pic.twitter.com/Mh3E4aaAUA
— ItsMatt (@mattkasinecz) October 26, 2016
Hey @cavs and @Nike your “join the championship ring celebration” feature on the Cavs app is not working…what’s the trick!? pic.twitter.com/4zhk1kpotS
— J.T. Sturm (@SturmMHS) October 26, 2016
@TheQAssist @cavs here is what I get pic.twitter.com/YJRwZjUcm3
— Ron Cooper (@Coopero3) October 27, 2016
Quicken Loans Arena’s customer service Twitter account wrote, “Unfortunately some rings were faulty” and offered to send replacement silicone bands.
The gift had been designed to activate the ring-wearing experience easily. Fans were instructed to wear the bands and once the ring ceremony on the court began to start using the “Join The Championship Ring Celebration” on the team’s mobile app.
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Fans could then share the photos of them wearing the virtual rings and were also directed to tap on the ring to purchase a replica from the online Team Shop store.
For those whose virtual rings didn’t work, they could at least know the Cavaliers’ real rings were pretty nice.