Well That Went Viral Before I had A Chance To….

Photo by Will Sherman of CityPhile

As you may or may not know, PublicAdCampaign and The Heavy Projects tested a new platform this weekend that uses Augmented Reality to virtually replace outdoor advertising with the artworks of some of my favorite physical outdoor advertising takeover artists, including Ron English, PosterBoy, John Fekner, OX, and Dr. D. A few bloggers were on hand to capture the magic and before we could compile an extensive video walkthrough of the project in action, things went viral, even being picked up by AdWeek. I will be posting a much more intense video in the next week or so showing the technology at work and in particular its ability to track the object in real time and correct for perspectival shifts which make the "takeover" feel almost real.

While this was a beta test of what is to be a much larger ongoing project that aims to eradicate outdoor advertising from your public space interaction, the program is live and running for anyone to view. You can do so by going to your app store or market on your iOS or Android device and searching Junaio. Download this program and search AR AD TAKEOVER. once the program loads you can hold your device up to any of the following advertisements to view their virtual replacement. That said, do it quick as the ads we have chosen will come down in the next week or so. One of our hurdles will be figuring out how to feed this project current ads as the content changes so you never have to look at an ad in public space again!

AR AD TAKEOVER Triggers:

Horrible Bosses - Horizontal phonebooth advertisement
30 Minutes or Less - Horizontal phonebooth advertisementCrazy Stupid Love - Horizontal phonebooth advertisementCrazy Stupid Love - Horizontal subway entrance advertisementHarry Potter - Horizontal phonebooth advertisementAliens and Cowboys - Billboard at 42nd street and 7th avenue SWC

Augmented Reality Advertising Takeover in Times Square from Will Sherman on Vimeo.

Black Hearts / Colour Souls - NEKO and Rosh

Neko and Rosh Have been out on the streets spreading good will in Madrid and here is the video to prove it.

Augmented Reality and the Next Generation of Advertising Takeover

This Sunday PublicAdCampaign will be Beta testing the AR AD Takeover, a collaborative effort with The Heavy Projects exploring the opportunities presented by Augmented Reality technologies for public visual space democratization. By running our AR channel, users can augment specific advertising around New York, receiving instead the artworks of Ron English, John Fekner, PosterBoy, Doctor D, and OX.

While the technology is in its infancy, we expect to develop effective and transformative public projects with this platform. We need volunteers to join us in Times Square or by City Hall for an hour or two with their smart devices (iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets). We will be filming user interaction and getting your thoughts on the effectiveness and future of this development. Please email us at info@publicadcampaign.com if you would like to join us 07-24-1,1 4-8pm. Remember we only need you to show up for an hour or two but were happy to entertain you the whole time!

Dial M for Murdoch - Dr. D

Via WoosterCollective

Vitamin Water bus-stop ad lets devices juice-up before the commute

Engadget is reporting on a new Bus Shelter advertisement for Vitamin Water that allows you to charge your cell phone via a USB jack coming directly out of the ad. Smart advertising I must say. I have always been curious who foots the electrical bill for backlit advertisements that are a part of city infrastructure like phone booths and bus shelters. One would hope the companies reaping huge profits but it wouldn't surprise me if somehow the city ends up charged with the illumination fees.

Thom Thom / Hephaestus in Paris

New Thom Thom work in Paris.

Contest Promotions Court Proceedings Pulled and Uploaded Here

It seems Contest Promotions has pulled the document describing their case against the City Of New York from the internet following our recent post. Luckily we downloaded it and have subsequently uploaded it to our server. Enjoy the full briefing [HERE] Thanks for tipping us off to this inauspicious move Mr. Eppink.

Contest Promotions - Perpetuating Lies In The Court Of Law

To all of those who read this blog regularly, I am sorry for the lack of posts this summer. I promise you it is not because I've been on vacation but rather I have been busy busy busy creating content and producing projects I will soon be at liberty to talk about.

Until then, I absolutely have to write this post on Contest Promotions and the bold faced lies which helped them win their recent case against the city of New York. After first hearing about this cases resolution and I am assuming appeal, I made a quick post. I was, to say the least, outraged by what can only be described as extreme truth bending and or in my opinion outright lies.

Long story short, National Promotions of America was operating an illegal street level advertising business. The city of New York demanded that they remove the illegal signage or face the full penalty of the law, potentially millions of dollars in fines. NPA then morphed into Contest Promotions and began operating on a legally suspect new business model. NYC did not accept this new business model and again demanded the signs removal. Contest Promotions, operating without regard for law or public opinion sued the city, demanding that they recognize this new and outrageously contentious business model. This new business model purported that Contest Promotions signage was in fact not advertising at all but a new form of accessory business signage that was integral to the operation of small business' all over the five boroughs. Their preliminary statement opens with…

"This is an Article 78 petition challenging the New York City Department of Buildings’ arbitrary, irrational and illegal determination that Petitioner Contest Promotions’ business model violates the City’s Zoning Resolution. Specifically, the Department has concluded that Contest Promotions does not employ “accessory signs,” as defined by the City’s Zoning Resolution, but instead relies on impermissible “advertising signs.” In so doing—and in attempting to shield its determination from judicial review—the Department has engaged in a campaign to shut down Contest Promotions’ business without legal justification. More troubling still, the Department’s untenable position directly harms small businesses across the City, which rely on such accessory signs to attract customers and compete against large chain retailers, and it undermines the Bloomberg Administration’s stated policies aimed at helping small businesses “in all five boroughs weather these tough times and avoid having to lay off employees or shut down altogether.” Ex. A (EDC Press Release). Indeed, the Department’s crackdown on these small businesses for using accessory signs to generate more customers and revenue is particularly misguided coming as it does when the stores need support more than ever because they are struggling to survive."

So according to Contest Promotions, their signs are used to attract customers into businesses in order to make purchases, build customer loyalty, and generally promote the establishment to which the sign refers. The examples they present as evidence are laughable as I will go on to show later in this post, but suffice to say they chose a very helpful incidence where their advertising signage happened to be somewhat associated with the business to which it was affixed. This singular case was the only evidence I know of that was presented and to me represents an attempt to misinform the court. Below one can see an orange juice advertisement which is affixed to a grocery store, a pairing which happens rarely if ever.

So lets take a look at what is really going on in the streets and not what Contest Promotions has chosen to present as evidence of its operations. Remember that line about Mom & Pop bodegas? The first example I'm giving is a Porno shop called The Exotica. The sign that is supposedly accessory to this business is located around the corner nearly 200 feet from The Erotica's entrance with a camera shop in between. Signage here usually consists of the band posters, music ads and movie posters that have little if not nothing to do with the establishment to which they refer.

The next example is also typical of CP signage which often is placed in parking lots. While no advertising signage could possibly refer back to this type of business, I would like to point out how far from a Mom & Pop establishment a huge parking conglomerate is. As well I would like to take this moment to ask how a movie poster for the upcoming Smurfs movie draws business to this establishment.

As a third example we actually have a local deli but again the proximity of the CP signage to the actual store makes accessory business a laughable term when applied in this instance, not to mention that the signage is for movies and music which have nothing to do with sandwiches and beer. Take note of the CP sign on the far right hand of the frame behind the green awning. Two stores fall between the sign and the business to which it is associated, located directly behind the lamp post.

Last is signage for Red Bull which is affixed to the most local and possibly longest operating bar in Williamsburg. This local haunt which is not friendly to the newly imported hipsters does not serve Red Bull let me tell you and surely has nothing to do with the typical advertising for music and movies which is Contest Promotions bread and butter. These examples represent a random selection taken as I go about my average day.

While I have not been adamant about shooting CP signs for this post, I did manage to snap these few images as I wander the city. What these random photos show is that the entire case that Contest Promotions built is a total sham. A blinding of the law through highly edited content that shows not only disrespect for our city but reveals the true nature of a company which purports to look out for Mom & Pops in light of the big box retail onslaught. What might prove Contest Promotions' dedication to local establishments it says it is keeping in business is a monthly rent check for more than $50.00, which is what building owners are paid for the large billboards to be erected on the sides of their properties.

Read the full CP document [Here]

Mobstr - Visual Pollution

Mobstr just sent us this image explaining that the letters reveal the ad underneath. I'm a big fan of Mobstr including his fantastic non-takeover work which is playful and yet potent at the same time.

Beast in Chinatown NYC

I'm a bit late on this Beast image but better late than never. Enjoy!