Kopping off – Science & Art get it on

The Intriguing Intersection of Science and Art

In case you missed it, down at Boxpark on the 2nd June was a wonderful street art installation by Kopparberg to launch their new Fruit Lager.

But this was no ordinary street art…. this was cylindrical anamorphic street art. For those who are not familiar with this term (I wasn’t), this is essentially distorted art that can only be seen in the reflection of a mirrored cylinder. According to Richard Simkins, the project lead at Talon Outdoor, this is a technique established more than 500 years ago. New technology may be advancing the media industry in new and exciting ways, but as Richard states, “it’s the understanding of different techniques that can make new and interesting campaigns”.

It is thanks to Richard’s rather intimidating, but brilliant, scientific brain and the creative combination of Talon, Goodstuff, and Ambient Media, that Kopparberg were able to project the work of internationally renowned mural artist Will Vibes on to a giant three-metre tall mirrored bottle. The live image creation drew passers-by in and challenged their perspectives, which according to Jodie Alliss, Senior Marketing Manager at Kopparberg, is “just like Fruit Lager is doing for Kopparberg in the market.”

We talk a lot about the dichotomy of science and art in advertising. It is therefore great to see a brand using science to enhance and enable art, with the aim of bringing people together, creating new conversations, and catching their imagination. I am also sure this was helped nicely along by the addition of the pop-up break out area and free Fruit Lager…

Talon’s Roy Shepherd said, “This was a fantastic demonstration of how we can showcase creativity in OOH and use digital OOH screens in tandem with the event to amplify the experience. Rich and the team were fantastic, working through some complex maths and science to create the end result for Kopparberg. We look forward to future initiatives undertaken by our Goodstuff and Talon partnership.”

Watch the video here.

By Jo Scully, Outsmart’s Assistant Strategy Planning Director

This blog first appeared Outsmart.org.uk on 13/06/2016