[OOH Focus] Creative in the sky

Coca-Cola

Last year, the Johannesburg skyline became even more iconic as the Coca-Cola brand created an innovative out-of-home (OOH) campaign. The brand has owned this iconic site for a number of years. The site is in the middle of the city and visible from highways on all sides. "The brand wanted to take the opportunity of our 20th year of freedom to engage and interact with people to celebrate the brand's Open Happiness and remind us all of what is good about us," explains FCB executive creative director, Jonathan Deeb. It is also 20 years ago since the 1994 first democratic elections when Desmond Tutu coined the term "The Rainbow Nation".

The agency used technology to create a rainbow that appeared on the building using the power of water and light. "We examined a number of ideas from playing music to lasers... It was no easy task and required tests and more tests... and more tests. We also could not waste water and had to wade our way through a number of logistical issues from testing the water for bacteria to ensuring the Fire Department was on board."

All their hard work was worth it and the Rainbow 'billboard' was a huge success. "A rainbow evokes a childlike sense of wonder and of something magical." The rainbow comes to life when the sun is at the right angle to the water spray and to achieve it, a rainbow-maker artist was bought in from the United States.

The agency also rolled out the concept to a number of billboards across the province. The campaign created a media buzz with even Desmond Tutu tweeting about it.

Standard Bank

Standard Bank created a live billboard recently as part of its broader creative campaign 'The Closer You Are, The More You Feel'. The billboard featured jazz musicians who entertained commuters during the traditional rush hour in Sandton.

The insight behind the campaign was to emphasise the live element of performance. "It also demonstrated that music is best experienced live," says Hazel Chimhandamba, Standard Bank head, group sponsorship. "Traffic in general is stressful and the idea was also to show the positive impact music has on people."

A specially freed up frequency, 100.0MHz, was created so drivers within a 100 square metre radius of the billboard could tune into the sounds coming from the billboard, while 702 livestreamed the event.

Land Rover

When it was announced that the last Land Rover Defender would come off the production line in December 2015, Y&R South Africa looked at how they could celebrate this iconic vehicle. The #CelebrateDefender campaign saw consumers send in their Land Rover Discovery stories.

The stories were from the 60s to present day, says Francoise van Rheede, executive client service director for Y&R South Africa. "These were then shared via social media as well as on billboards which carried the stories. In this way, we drove awareness of the brand."

Castrol

Last year Ad Outpost created street pole advertisements for Castrol, which featured moving engine parts. The idea of the campaign was for the consumer to understand, in three seconds, exactly what the product does for his vehicle.