Times Square Augmented Reality Billboard for Forever 21
Big brother now has a big sister, who looks like a model and dresses exclusively in clothing from the little known fashion brand called Forever21. She's been living in Times Square over the past week via the Augmented Reality billboard that has been made to get the small label noticed. And noticed they got. With the worlds most popular blogs picking up the story in the last 24 hours.
The billboard relies on Spy camera technology that's usually used in government or security surveillance. Actually, the agency behind it, Space150 had to consult surveillance experts to pull it off.
"If you see the way the computer works, it's like Predator or something," says Billy Jurewicz, founder and CEO of Space150. "Each person has a halo with data." Adds Jurewicz, "The board now is like the iPod 1.0. We're going to be updating this more and more." Future versions, with better cameras, might include the model holding a magnifying glass to the crowd, or picking someone up and holding them up to the face of the billboard, so the entire crowd can get a closer look.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I like his approach towards advertising. It kind of takes engagement to an intrusive new level. Forever 21's "Big Sister" recognises people in the crowd with bags from the fashion label and interacts with them, taking pictures etc...Sure, it's an interesting innovation and one that makes a spectacle in an advertising space a saturated as Times square. It'll probably pick up a few awards, but it's definately a minority report style concept that is bound to become mainstream in the next few years. Scary.
You can read an article which explains more about it from Fast Company, here.
Via digital buzz blog and fastcompany
