A fresh stream of ad revenue
British firm is aiming to bring video games to a urinal near you
Gentleman, take aim.
A U.K. startup has harnessed the power of pee. That is, they’ve produced the ultimate marketing gimmick by adding sensors to urinal video screens to create branded games that you play by directing your stream.
The Whizzard has already taken Britain by storm. Its creators are now hoping to bring the device to a restroom near you.
Like so many other bizarre ideas, this one was the product of late night banter. Gordon MacSween, then a general manager in manufacturing, was chatting with his mates about Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The airport had placed tiny images of flies in restroom urinals in an attempt to cut cleaning costs (as women everywhere know, men can sometimes be careless).
The scheme worked. Men couldn’t help but blast the hapless fly. Less urine splashed on the walls and floors.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if the fly was a warplane?” MacSween thought aloud. “You could shoot it down!” He contemplated high scores. He imagined a screen. MacSween began raising funds and in 2007, he founded Captive Media with a former business school friend.
“The original idea was all about fun for guys,” MacSween says. “As it turns it out, that’s a great place to start for advertising.”
After years of toil and trials, the Whizzard was finally unveiled in 2012. To date, 250 units have been installed worldwide. The majority of them can be found in U.K. bars.
Mounted above a urinal, the patented devices feature 30-centimetre LED screens fitted with infrared sensors — it works with existing plumbing fixtures, though MacSween says some bars place target stickers in the bowl. The units flash normal ads until you step up, triggering a game like xStream Racer, in which you steer a race car, Pee-nalty Shoot-Out, which lets you kick shots at a soccer net, and Artsplash, where you can pee-paint a masterpiece.
In the run-up to the U.K. general election in May, the firm cheekily introduced Wee the People — a game for the British blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan. By directing their stream, men could throw tomatoes at their least-favourite party leader. 512,480 pee votes were cast. Urine luck, Nigel Farage: the right wing UKIP party leader achieved the most inglorious hits.
“In the good old days of Mad Men, people would watch an ad and admire the cleverness of the person behind it,” MacSween says. “These days, you have to give something to get something in advertising.”
So far, the devices have primarily been used to target the coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic with alcohol ads — which, when you think about it, is rather brilliant. Imagine drunk dudes stumbling into a washroom and getting excited about a peepowered game. As soon as they’re done playing, a booze ad flashes on the screen: Corona, Tiger, Jagermeister and Captain Morgan have all made use of the technology.
“In the good old days of Mad Men, people would watch an ad and admire the cleverness of the person behind it. These days, you have to give something to get something in advertising.” GORDON MACSWEEN CAPTIVE MEDIA
“Between 40 and 70 per cent of consumer decisions are made at the point of purchase,” MacSween says. In one U.K. bar, he notes, Corona beer sales increased by 46 per cent after The Whizzard was installed.
“People are going in and competing,” MacSween laughs. “But I’ll be open with you — the only downside is that girls are going in to see what the hell this is all about.”
Although Captive Media is still looking for a partner to make The Whizzard a permanent fixture over Canadian urinals, the device has already made a brief appearance in the country.
During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Canadian advertising giant Zoom Mediainstalled a handful of the devices programmed with a Telus-branded soccer shootout game. “Anywhere we could put these things where we knew the bars would be jammed with dudes watching the (World Cup) games, that’s where we were putting them,” says Chris Corvetti, Zoom Media’s director of sales and media integration. “We’re always exploring how we can push the envelope when it comes to bathroom ads.”
Zoom Media traces its origins to 1989, when its founder created a sexual-health awareness campaign in women’s restrooms at a Quebec university.
Although the company has since moved beyond the bathroom, its restroom ads remain ubiquitous.
More campaigns with the Whizzard are in the works, Corvetti says.
“There’s nothing that I can reveal just yet, but we’re having some fun with it from a conceptual point of view.”
Until that day, gentlemen, your aim is in your own hands.