Yes, it looks like a 3D billboard, but it is a forced perspective illusion that we created for Spirit Halloween, and it appeared in Times Square this Halloween season.
Check out the video below to see how it appeared at night and during the day.
The Groove Jones team was asked to create this eye-catching OOH experience that features Jack the Reaper as he smashes through this oversized digital billboard in New York’s Times Square and reaches out to grab onlookers below. The animation begins with the Spirit Halloween logo and URL callout. Then all of a sudden, a powerful force begins to punch the billboard as if it wants to break out.
The front and side panels begin to distort and shatter with every punch.
Then, all of a sudden, Jack the Reapers’ skeleton hands tear through the screens, sending sparks and shards of glass flying everywhere.
Giant oversized bats fly out as Jack the Reaper reveals himself.
Forced Perspective 3D Billboard Located In Times Square
The dramatic effect is powerful and is created through a forced perspective illusion. Making this content work doesn’t require special digital hardware or technology. Oversized displays that have a corner will work. We created this experience to work on a screen located at Broadway – from 45th to 46th Street.
This high-definition 4K digital billboard, called the “Digital Godzilla,” stretches an entire block overlooking New York City’s iconic Times Square. The display’s scale, scope, and location prime it for significant social sharing and amplification.
The Groove Jones team used cutting-edge content design methods, including recreating New York’s icon Time Square in VR (Virtual Reality) so the team could walk out and view their work on the billboard in real-time from their studio in Dallas, Texas. The team needed to ensure the designs worked correctly for the forced-perspective angles to work as intended. Seeing it as if you were standing out on the street was key. VR allowed us to view it as if we were there, standing out on Broadway – rain or shine.
And yes, it is on TikTok.
Award Winning Production
2023 NYX Marcom Awards – GRAND
Category: Advertising – Billboard
2023 Communicator Awards – AWARD OF DISTINCTION
Category: Billboard
2023 Hermes Creative Awards – GOLD
Category: Electronic Media / Digital Advertising / Display Ad
2023 Muse Creative Awards – PLATINUM
Category: Outdoor Advertising – Billboard
2023 Horizon Interactive Awards – GOLD
Category: Video – Motion Graphics / Effects
2023 Horizon Interactive Awards – GOLD
Category: Promotional – Video
2023 Horizon Interactive Awards – SILVER
Category: Advertisement / Commercial – Video
2022 Vega Digital Awards – CANOPUS
Category: Video / Online Video (Single) – Experimental / Innovative