Through the Looking Glass: Issue 32

Through the Looking Glass is Subvrsive's monthly newsletter focused on keeping brands and agencies in the loop when it comes to the latest and greatest emerging tech trends. Curated by the Subvrsive team—and heavily influenced by our day-to-day Slack chatter—Through the Looking Glass is our unique take on emerging technology breakthroughs. Additionally, we showcase the latest and greatest work from Subvrsive, providing a comprehensive view of cutting-edge innovations in the industry.

This week’s newsletter is packed with highlights from 2024, showcasing groundbreaking trends, cutting-edge technologies, and some of Subvrsive’s best work of the year. We explore the rise of Fake Out-of-Home (FOOH) advertising, emotional personalization, and sensory innovations that are redefining immersive experiences. We also dive into the challenges of generative AI and celebrate bold brand collaborations that broke through the noise. Finally, we reflect on our game-changing projects, including Coca-Cola's Marvel AR packaging, dynamic 3D billboards, Campari’s FOOH activations, playable billboards, and a TikTok Branded Effect. 2024 has been unforgettable, and we can’t wait to keep building the future in 2025!

🤩 The Big 5: What Made 2024 Unforgettable

Nobody's FOOH

People in the future (or time-travelers, natch) may look back on 2024 as the year brands embraced Fake Out-of-Home advertising (FOOH) which blends the real and the imagined. Cost efficiency, potential for virality, and creative flexibility are all reasons that FOOH is on the rise. While innovative, some worry about brand authenticity, but there is still a trend (probably the same one every year) that tells us brands are moving towards engaging consumers in new and novel ways. Porsche and Balenciaga both exhibited interesting applications of the concept in 2024.

You Know How I Feel

The next wave of personalization technology is upon us, though nobody seems to know how to do it. It's not journey orchestration, it's emotional personalization - the dark horse of Personalization 2.0. Currently in use by only about 20% of businesses, emotional personalization is accelerating and, considering that most choices are made by emotion over logic, it is past time. By leveraging things like facial analysis and micro-expression detection, future systems could tailor content structure, substance, and delivery to a user's emotional state.

Beyond the 2 Senses

Well, here we are: It's almost 2025 and we are still only solving for two senses when we create immersive experiences: vision and hearing. Future-forward creators are leveraging new innovations to fill the gap including elements that change gravitational force, haptics that can simulate resistance, and multi-directional treadmills. Even as we take these steps towards addressing the forgotten two senses - proprioceptive and vestibular - we have yet to tackle tactility or smell in any notable fashion. Smell-o-Vision is still years away, it seems. Lame, 2025. Lame.

The Imbalancing Act

Generative AI is here and it ain't going back in the bottle regardless of what some brands may desire. Brands are utilizing GenAI in haphazard and, IMHO, irresponsible fashions. Austen Mace, co-founder and CIO at Subvrsive, said that "While the power and promise of AI for brands to tell more stories at increased efficiency and personalization, it must be balanced with brand authenticity and safety." We're not going to solve the conundrum of authenticity today, but major brands like Apple, Google, and Microsoft all took steps to illustrate the contours of responsible usage.

Better Together (Like "a Raisin Covered in Chocolate, or a Monkey in a Cowboy Suit")

Brands are redefining partnerships by embracing bold, unexpected collaborations that break through the noise. "These pairings highlight a shift toward 'culture first'marketing, leveraging surprise and contrast to captivate modern audiences," said Subvrsive Executive Creative Director, Claudia G Aparicio Gamundi. Examples include: Liquid Death teaming up with Depend, an adult diaper brand, and Kith, a streetwear label, reimagining luxury with BMW. Crocs also dominated with odd pair collaborations including McDonald’s and Duolingo, emphasizing the power of aligning with cultural moments and values to create impactful, buzz-headline-worthy campaigns.

🤩 Our Best Work of 2024: A Year of Creativity and Innovation

2024 has been a game-changing year for Subvrsive. We pushed creative boundaries, blended the digital with the physical, and created experiences that left a lasting mark. From unleashing the Marvel Universe on Coca-Cola cans to turning heads with Campari’s jaw-dropping Fake Out-of-Home (FOOH) activations, and redefining interactivity with playable billboards, we’ve proven that the line between imagination and reality is thinner than ever.

This year wasn’t just about delivering killer campaigns—it was about learning, growing, and showing the world what’s possible when creativity and technology collide. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished and even more excited about where we’re headed in 2025. Take a look at the projects that defined our year and see why we’re not just keeping up with the future—we’re building it.

Creating a Marvel On-Package Experience

To provide customers with an immersive interaction with the Coca-Cola brand, we brought the Marvel Universe to life through an innovative augmented reality experience directly on the packaging. Powered by WPP Open X, led by VML and Subvrsive, the Marvel project introduces a dynamic on-package AR experience that enhances Coca-Cola’s limited edition packaging. This groundbreaking initiative features exclusive designs showcasing 32 iconic Marvel characters, transforming each can into an exciting, interactive adventure.

Coca-Cola 3DOOH Billboards

We leveled up our Marvel campaign with 13 dynamic 3D billboards across Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, and Germany! 🇮🇹🇨🇿🇷🇴🇷🇸🇩🇪

From iconic Marvel heroes to the bold energy of Coke Zero, we transformed OOH adverts into an immersive campaign–elevating visibility and driving impact across Europe.

Campari FOOH Experiences

We designed a series of innovative FOOH experiences across multiple high-profile events, blending digital enhancements with real-world elements to captivate and engage audiences. For EDC, a digitally enhanced Skyy Vodka bottle swung along the Las Vegas Strip, while a virtual hot air balloon at the US Open dropped tennis balls and Aperol. The Times Square activation featured a helicopter pouring Campari into a giant Negroni, and at the Latin Grammys, our activation celebrated Hispanic and Latin creators, effectively enhancing Espolon Tequila's connection to the cultural celebration.

The Playable Billboards

To unveil one of our collaborations with The Coca-Cola Company 'The Playable Billboard,' powered by WPP Open X and led by Grey, with support from Subvrsive and Ogilvy PR, transformed Times Square into an interactive digital playground.

In this innovative activation, spectators engaged in a digital pong match using Coca-Cola bottles as controllers while seated on a Coca-Cola-branded couch right in the heart of Times Square. This modern twist on a nostalgic game was showcased on the iconic Times Square Billboard, captivating audiences with a sense of gaming nostalgia.

Catching the Coca-Cola Bottle

‘Magic Catch Billboards’ developed by WPP Open X, led by Ogilvy, with support from Subvrsive, reimagined the iconic “catch the Coca-Cola bottle” photo opportunity through a dynamic digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign. Launched as part of our "Wildcards" campaign across diverse regions and languages, this DOOH campaign introduced realistic animations and a multilingual experience, breathing new life into a beloved brand ritual and connecting with a global audience.

Coca-Cola ‘It’s Gonna Be You?’ TikTok Branded Effect

We developed a randomized TikTok Branded Effect for the Coke Zero Sugar ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ campaign. In collaboration with AKQA, we crafted a new Branded Effect that invites users to sing along to the chart-topping anthem, ‘It’s Gonna Be Me,’ by the most popular boy band of the 20th century, as a chance to get your Coke bottle chosen. Should you choose not to sing, there’s a risk of not getting picked out of the fridge.

If you'd like to get in touch with our team about anything you read in this newsletter or a project you have in mind, reach out here.

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