Have you seen Coca-Cola’s new ad in Times Square? Well if you haven’t, check it out here here!

To give you a brief overview, the company has decided to do what has never been done before – create a digital advertisement with moving LED screens to show effect. The 3D robotic ad went live on August 15, 2017.

Sixteen-Nine Digital Signage Online News website wrote on article, titling it – “Is Coca-Cola’s Big Robotic Billboard in Times Square Mechanical Overkill for Visual Effects?”  Within the article, a number of creative experts were interviewed to get their thoughts on Coca-Cola’s possible overkill on digital signage.

I decided to interview our CEO, Alan Wehbe, an expert in the Digital Signage industry. Below is his input on the advertisement in the big apple!

“Coca-Cola did a great job to ‘wow’ the public. However putting mechanical parts with LED is a simple waste of time and money. There are a lot of factors that come into play when you start putting mechanical parts into motion and the chances of things breaking are much higher. This is a onetime advertisement for Coca-Cola to grab attention – this LED screen will not be there for a long time.

The LED modules are on a medal frame, maneuvered on a hydraulic arm with built-in software to move the animation. Instead of the video actually playing with the view, the software is telling the cubes when and where to move. Modules are breaking and the mechanical options inside are causing it to break even faster, which means constant maintenance is required. We can’t also ignore the weather factor that could play a role.

At UTG we would have used high end graphics with 3D modelling to make advertisements look even more realistic. These moving parts are so high up and barely noticeable. Viewers from the ground may recognize it as a normal Coca-Cola ad playing in Times Square. With today’s technology, that same (or better) effect could be given at a much cheaper cost with less hassle, and this is what we do at UTG!

Coca-Cola got people talking and that was a great marketing approach!  – I think mixing mechanical and LED signage is a short term investment. LED Signage has a longer lifespan with limitless advantages and attractive effects if the right graphics are used.”

To no surprise, Coca Cola wanted to pull off a first. Could they have done an even better job by properly using today’s advanced technology and creative experts?? Personally, I think so!

Let us know your thoughts on this unique robotic digital signage in Times Square!

— P