Life

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Future of Advertising

Technology may be kind of freaky sometimes, but at least for every instance of it being used in terrifying ways, there’s also an instance of it being used in amazing ways. Like this ad in a Swedish subway station for Apolosophy hair care products, for example. When I say that it’s hair-raising, I mean it in the best way possible.

The ad promotes the a new hair care line from a Swedish pharmacy chain called Apotek. At first glance, it just looks like a nifty video ad featuring a model with fabulous hair. But when a train goes by — and only when a train goes by – her hair whips up all around her, just like yours does with the L train rushes past.. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future of advertising!

How was it made? A production company known as Stopp Family took one of Clear Channel’s Play screens — basically a high-tech version of a poster — and modified it to be able to track train movement. Using an ultra sonic sensor, a local network socket, and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, they hooked up a device they built themselves to the screen. The device, which responds to train arrivals but not to passing passengers, activates when a train goes by, triggering the hair-blowing portion of the video ad. How cool is that?

Watch it in action here:

Image: Apotek Pharmacy/Huffington Post