Inner Visions
The new Mercury Cougar is sleek, fast, and designed for the 21st century. The new Sony Metreon, a mega-entertainment complex in San Francisco, is another cool customer. We thought they would make a perfect match for an interactive display that’s a first for both companies.
When our client, Mercury, was looking for opportunities to advertise in the California market, we saw qualities in the Metreon that embodied the Mercury brand and the dynamic, totally redesigned Cougar automobile. Metreon is a four-story wonder anchored by an IMAX theater and movie screens galore, Sony Style and Discovery Channel stores, one of Microsoft’s first retail ventures, gaming facilities, and a slew of restaurants.
The entertainment palace features cutting-edge, interactive attractions based on the works of authors Maurice Sendak, Jean “Moebius” Giroud, and The Way Things Work author David Macauley. It was Macauley’s exhibit, titled “The Way Things Work In Mammoth 3-D,” that especially caught our attention. We liked his take on the world in both the exhibit and his book, in which he employs user-friendly language to explain the physics principles behind the operations of, for instance, an automobile.
With that as our guide, we set out to highlight the powerful inner workings of the new Cougar. Our version: “The Way Mercury Works.” Consumers approach the slick Cougar in the high-traffic, ground floor of Metreon, where the car is raised up on a high-polish surface, appearing to almost float. An interactive kiosk in front of the car enables viewers to explore five of the car’s working areas: suspension, brakes, air bags, motor components, and design. When selected, the area lights up, moves, and is described in a video that pulses with a futuristic look and meshes beautifully with the surrounding images of the car and the mall.
The kiosk’s final interactive touch screen lets consumers enter data to find out more about Cougar or any of Mercury’s other cars or trucks. Consumers get immediate response via e-mail and will – if they choose – have their names added to a database for future promotions and information releases.
The process of putting this display together wasn’t as easy as hopping in and turning the key. Multiple decision-makers added complexity, and an attraction like Metreon rightfully sets high design standards. But the end product turned out perfectly. It’s interactive, involving, and very cool. Just like the new Mercury and the new Metreon.
