Piccadilly Circus visitors were shocked to see Rosamund Pike, an enormous anamorphic figure, leap out of an advertising window to promote her latest fantasy drama The Wheel of Time.
Amazon Prime is streaming the show which has been described as “the new Game of Thrones”.
Similar advertising campaigns featuring the 3D screens are taking place in Paris, New York, Madrid and Tokyo.
Pike (42), who portrays Moiraine Dmodred, the head of the Aes Sedai drama gang, shot special scenes at each location for the billboards to maximize the effect on ground people.
It makes the illusion that the character appears to be reaching for the sky from the TV screen.
A few seconds later, a giant and some snakes appear on the screen.
Rosamund Pike seems to be reaching out from London’s Picadilly Circus in order to promote her Amazon Prime Video series The Wheel of Time
Pike, 42 years old, plays Moiraine Darmodred. She is the head of Aes SEDAI’s all-female gang. Pike filmed scenes specifically for each billboard to enhance the 3-D effect for those on the ground.
Video of the 3D effect was shown in London, Paris New York, Madrid, Tokyo and New York.
These scenes are intended to enhance the 3D effects for each location.
It is intended to showcase the extraordinary powers Pike enjoys in this show.
Amplify, an advertising agency, is running the campaign.
Alex Wilson, creative director of the agency, said that they filmed Rosamund Pike on set in Prague with Amazon Studios. They also captured multiple takes.
“Working with Pike as her movement coordinator, we created choreography to allow Pike’s character to feel genuine reaching out toward the audience. It didn’t matter where she lived.
“For the first-time, we captured a live action shoot with Rosamund Pike, which combined it with high quality VFX, and custom 3D animation. We have broken again the OOH 3D anamorphic illusions format and made The Wheel of Time more real for our audiences.
For subscribers to Amazon Prime Video, the TV show will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video
Adweek spoke with Greg Coleman, Amazon Prime Video’s global head for franchise marketing. He said that the characters were so relatable and moving, they wanted to be physically brought into their world.
‘We didn’t feel traditional marketing options could offer enough of a sensory experience, so we looked to more tactile options such as: interactive experiences, 360 trailers and anamorphic billboards—all of which transport our audience into the world of the show.’
Each billboard location was unique so the shots were chosen to maximize the effect.