Times Square Polaroid

A giant screen above the Forever 21 store in Times Square, New York is showing a creative execution that takes live elements from the surrounding street scene.  A girl appears on the screen & amp; turns to take a photo of the crowd below.  She shakes a Polaroid which then contains the photo that she appears to have taken.  Crowds were captivated by this relatively simple technology and stared at the screen for up to 20 minutes!

More details at Digital Signage Insights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBtPnUKn1fU

Smile Activated vending Machine

Unilever, in conjunction with SapientNitro, has developed the world’s first ‘smile-activated’ vending machine which rewards grins with free ice cream.   The user is prompted for a smile, a photo is taken and uploaded onto Facebook and the consumer can then pick their free ice-cream by using the touch-screen interface on the vending machine.

Foursquare check-in prompts

Foursquare check-in prompts
Looks like foursquare realise the importance of real world OOH media as they are producing official ‘check in here’ window stickers much like google maps did a while ago

For more illustrations click http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=67496&id=109752595734309

i-phone controlled OOH gaming

The Pirata Boat Race is a game whereby players uses their i-phones as the controllers.  Historically gameplay via mobile is achieved using IVR (Integrated Voice Response) where the player dials into a number and a touch-tone mechanism allows them to use the keypad into control an OOH screen.  To play the boat race however, users download an app, snap an on-screen QR code using their camera phone which logs them in and then multiple players can compete by ‘rowing’ their phones to power the boats.  There are a huge range of OOH screen locations, both large & small that could allow such gameplay.

To play yourself visit piratalondon.com/boatrace

Defacing the crowd

Fancyrence is an interactive installation by Sanpuk http://www.sanpuk.com/  from the Offf festival in Paris 2010 which allows users to poke fun at attendees.  A live video feed of the crowd was displayed on a touch screen on through which users could drag items around to decorate people’s faces.  The resulting images were then uploaded to a dedicated website (http://www.fancyrence.com/)

As with many of these types of installation it’s the context that makes it fun, appealing or interesting.  The same technology in an different environment such as a website or on a gaming console would seem pretty unexciting whereas projects such as our live webcam stream to a London Underground station or touch screen games in bus shelters proved to be incredibly engaging.

More details at PSFK http://www.psfk.com/2010/07/offf-review-fancyrences-interactive-crowd-art.html

HomeWrecker Game

A number of brands have used gesture based gaming installations in out-of-home locations such as retail unit windows but this example has the added mechanic of allowing players to throw things at screens which could add an extra bit of fun to an experiential marketing project.

via : daily DOOH

Phone paints building

A German research scientist has built an application that allows an i-phone user to digitally alter the appearance of a façade.  Users simply aim their device at the building causing the viewfinder to show the façade on-screen which the user can then paint in different colours.  This is then replicated on the actual building.

The 2^nd video shows a similar approach using a higher definition OOH screen as a virtual blackboard which replicates what’s drawn on the i-phone screen.

via : Digital Signage Insights

AR beat boxing monkeys

Having covered Augmented Reality so extensively over the years we try to resist sharing even more examples but we particularly liked this one whereby kids hold up QR code plaques to a giant OOH screen to trigger beatboxing monkeys.  An alternative method would have been to place permanent marker plaques on the floor which players have to obscure by standing on them.

Restaurant in a box

Hard to believe but it is possible to create a restaurant in under a minute using an old shipping container.  The solar powered ‘MUVBOX’ could be placed in any location where the relevant permissions can be obtained & each night the restaurant vanishes back into its own cube and then reopens the following morning at a touch of a button.

To view the video click www.muvboxconcept.com

Lightning bolts hit Glastonbury

Tesla coils which produce spectacular and highly visible lightning type effects using high frequency voltage energy were used in a display at the Glastonbury Festival. Performers equipped in a metal cloth which transported the electricity on the outside of the suit, danced to make shapes and concentrate the electricity through different parts of the body. They also held bulbs which lit up as the electricity was conducted through the body.

The same Tesla Coil technology was also used in Hollywood for the launch of Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief  http://vimeo.com/channels/hyperspace#7357418

Fragrance dispensing computers

http://vimeo.com/11880708
Aroma dispensing poster sites first appeared in the mid 1990’s & the concept has recently been combined with online media by TBWA Brazil who created the first scented web banner that appeared in internet cafes using a piece of hardware fixed to the monitor.  When people clicked on the banner advertising men’s fragrance, Kaiak, a real life sample scent strip was ejected from the screen.  The massive 17.2% click through rate equated to 43 times the global average.

This idea could be extended to the streets using touch screens or physical buttons integrated into poster sites fitted with dispensers much like the project for O2 below.

Branded Flowers

Eco-advertising company, Curb Media, are now able to brand real flowers with a logo or simple photo.