Rise of the Tomb Raider
Award-winning Times Square OOH
To promote the launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4, we created a 70-foot-tall billboard in Times Square, featuring a real Jeep Wrangler dangling from a steel winch cable in front of an icy background. The Jeep had functional headlights and taillights that came on at night, and there was even a hidden snow machine that activated at random intervals, filling the intersection below with swirling snow (a first for Times Square out-of-home).
To ensure that the impact of our billboard reached far beyond its physical location, we made it the centerpiece of a national social media contest called #PrizeOfTheTombRaider – any fan who posted the contest hashtag and a Tomb Raider-themed photo on Facebook or Instagram would be entered to win the real Jeep.
New Yorkers walking by 52nd Street and Broadway on Wednesday may have noticed that it was snowing—but only around that city block. The early October snow is fake, part of an experiential billboard for the Oct. 11 release of the Lara Croft game, "Rise of the Tomb Raider," on Play Station 4.
We Hung a Jeep Wrangler in Times Square and Made it Snow
The 64-foot-tall 3D billboard, which includes a 2,000 pound Jeep Wrangler hanging from the side of a building, was created by Out of Home America Wilkins Media and Liquid Advertising. It will be up, and pumping out fake (environmentally safe) snow for the next four weeks. The FDNY and other city officials examined the billboard for safety.
"We're all huge Tomb Raider fans at Liquid, so when [game publisher] Square Enix wanted to put together a giveaway to support the big PS4 launch, we knew we had to create a big, vertigo-inducing outdoor scene to show off the prize Jeep," said Patrick Runco, vp and executive creative director, Liquid Advertising. "And it was a chance for us to have a little fun with Times Square, in that the Jeep is in a parking spot that maybe only Lara Croft could possibly get."
Patricia Turosz, vp of client partnerships and experiential for Out of Home America Wilkins, agreed. "Lara Croft is subjected to extreme weather (wind, rain, snow and ice) in this game and must overcome a great deal to survive. We wanted to bring some elements of the game to life with this billboard in a unique and memorable way."
Prize of the Tomb Raider
Our team executed an attention-grabbing experience on Times Square to highlight the Rise of the Tomb Raider release. We suspended a Jeep Wrangler against the backdrop of a double-stacked billboard that periodically releases snow, creating “blizzard conditions” over a thirty-foot by fifty-foot area before falling.
Fans can enter to win a new 2016 Jeep Wrangler by sharing the hashtag “#prizeofthetombraider” to social media. The giveaway celebrates twenty years since the first Tomb Raider game was released.
The display has caused countless pedestrians to stop and capture the snowfall on their phones, sharing the storm across social media. You can watch the reactions in this video. We also caught the attention of Adweek, who included it in their editor’s picks, featuring a video of interviews with the execution team.
An early mockup for pitch to client.
Wilkin's installation team mounting the installation in the early hours of October 6th, 2016.
An unseasonable snow in early snow in October around the blocks of 54th St. in Times Square was due to an industrial snow machine mounted to the rear of the billboard and Jeep.
Social impact examples
Mechanical design
Gutting and modifying the 1997 Jeep CJ7 that was to be hoisted onto the installation.
