An LA billboard
that dances to life
At first glance, it appears to be a digital board
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 16, 2011
You're scurrying down the street on the way to work, late as usual, when something catches your eye.
It's a billboard, located on a nearby rooftop, by the looks of it a digital billboard playing a video of a group of dancers doing a high-energy routine of kicks, jumps, lifts and dips.
You stop and watch, mesmerized by their every move. They look so real.
You walk a bit closer, and then it hits you. They are real.
It's not a digital billboard at all. It's a live billboard, with a group of real-life dancers performing on a small platform in front of it.
There's music, too, being pumped out by a DJ in a booth at street level. As the dancers move to the music they're getting an enthusiastic response from the crowd that's gathered below.
The live billboard was a fun alternative media campaign dreamed up by Fox to promote last night's live performance debut of "So You Think You Can Dance," when the top 20 performed for the first time.
The performance took place on Tuesday on a rooftop billboard located at Sunset Boulevard and Hilldale in Los Angeles, a very busy intersection.
Fox hired 16 professional dancers for the gig—none of them "SYTYCD" contestants—and they danced in four-person teams in front of a billboard bearing the name of the show.
The stunt began at 8 a.m. and wrapped up around 7 p.m.
In addition to the live DJ, who offered comments on the performances as he spun the tunes, the "SYTYCD" judges stopped by to check out the scene. No word on whether they critiqued the dancers.
Street teams were also on hand in "SYTYCD" clothing, handing out water to the performers and giving passersby branded lip balms.
The stunt worked on two levels. The live billboard tied in nicely with the live performance theme, and it was easy to make that connection to people who passed by.
But the stunt also kept with the Fox brand: sassy, fun and willing to try something different, which is why the network does so many alternative media stunts.
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