Makeup and beauty brand Maybelline, for example, utilised public transport to advertise their new mascara. Their mascara-wearing tube and bus ads caused a frenzy online and effectively reshaped perceptions of what OOH could achieve.
However, whilst this viral campaign took a new spin on the format, the whole thing was in fact a hoax – with CGI having created these fake OOH scenes to simply create an online buzz. An interesting take, but safe to say it definitely worked – we’re sure the team leading on this got a big bonus!
The hoopla raises some questions around where OOH is headed. The Maybelline campaign toed the line between innovation and public deception. It was powerful but also strangely unsettling. Is this a case of advertising taking another step towards becoming more intrusive? One thing is for sure, with the use of augmented reality – the lines are definitely being blurred between the OOH, social media advertising and Guerrilla marketing.
Digital Out Of Home, or DOOH, has been a massive catalyst in the format’s revival, and is projected to grow exponentially in 2024. From 3D projections that pop out of billboards to interactive experiences that engage directly with audiences, DOOH is again blurring the lines between digital and physical advertising spaces. From the real to the imagined. From 2D to 3D. DOOH has redefined what is possible in the realm of public advertising.
During the pandemic, 3D iterations of this advertising genre really started to make their mark. The most striking of which was the giant wave developed by d’strict, which could be seen at K-Pop Square, in the heart of Seoul’s Gangnam District. More recently, Meta Reality Lab promoted their Meta Quest 2 virtual reality (VR) headset in the same fashion in Piccadilly Square, London. This is becoming a more frequented OOH format, often making up a small yet impactful part of wider campaigns.
What’s more, the accessibility of DOOH is widening, with advertisers and content creators now able to sync their ads from social media to digital billboards all through mobile.
TikTok’s new ‘out of phone’ advertising solution allows for exactly that. Taking campaigns from the small screens of mobile devices and amplifying them onto billboards, cinema screens, and other public displays – it’s a bold move that marries the virility of social media with the visibility of OOH, offering brands a new way to reach audiences.
