Just as the world finished watching the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 27, Procter Gamble and Gillette used digital signage projection technologies to promote U.S. Olympians and Gillette’s special Olympics edition of its Fusion ProGlide razor.
Gillette projected video images of Team U.S.A. athletes Tyson Gay and Ryan Lochte onto buildings around Boston and sprays of water over Boston Harbor.
According to Gillette, which posted video of the event on YouTube, “(t)he event was a spectacle of light and water featuring 60-foot holograms of Team USA athletes Tyson Gay launching off the blocks and Ryan Lochte diving into historic Boston Harbor.”
As part of Gillette’s Global “Get Started” campaign, the company had been gearing Bostonian’s up for the night’s big event through a series of smaller projections throughout the city on well-known buildings. These brief mini-projections, which featured glimpses of Lochte and Gay, were intended to spark “buzz” in Boston while building anticipation toward the big festivities on Boston Harbor.
“PG and its brand Gillette are not just partners of the Olympic Games, we’re dedicated fans at heart, and we wanted to convey our passion and excitement for the start of the Olympic Games with a truly remarkable and unforgettable program that not only wished our Gillette ambassadors a great start in London, but more importantly showed our support for all of Team USA,” said Sonia Fife, general manager, Gillette North America, in an announcement from Gillette. “We were able to share our pride with Bostonians and the nation as we celebrated the beginning of the Olympic Games with a splash.”
The event used multiple projectors to display the video images of Ryan Lochte and Tyson Gay in action on massive screens of particulate water vapor, sprayed into the air above the surface of the Boston Harbor. Water projection is a fine art that blends complex design and projection technology with a natural canvas. As the event began, powerful underwater pumps 100 feet from the water’s edge created two video projection canvases by spraying a mist of water into the air. One screen of misted water was 120 feet wide by 55 feet tall, while the other screen of misted water measured 80 feet wide by 30 feet tall. A patented video mapping technology was used to display customized graphics, animations and video footage onto these enormous water screens as the images were projected frompowerful video projection equipment.
“Gillette’s celebration embodies why The Olympics mean so much to all of us — it shines a spotlight on what we can achieve when we believe in ourselves,” said Tyson Gay. “I am thrilled that I am getting such a great start to the Olympic Games.”
In addition to supporting Lochte and Gay, the “Get Started” campaign supports 23 other Gillette brand ambassadors from 18 countries who are participating in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Through the campaign, each of the elite athletes will participate in activities to help inspire and encourage future generations to achieve greatness through a great start. The Gillette campaign was the first program launched as part of PG’s global partnership with the IOC and support of The Olympics movement, which reaches through the next five Olympic Games to the 2020 Olympic Games.
“It’s absolutely incredible to have Gillette commemorate my experience at The Olympics with such a fun and interactive event for the city of Boston and fans nationwide,” said Ryan Lochte. “It’s amazing to think this exciting celebration was taking place while I was sound asleep in London preparing for today’s first race. I was so excited to see the video of this epic event and wish all of my teammates good luck.”
See the embedded YouTube video below:
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