Advertising in the S-Bahn tunnels

I was just on the S-Bahn between Karlsplatz and Marienplatz and noticed that they're now projecting adverts onto the walls of the tunnel. Yes, you read that correctly: on the walls of the tunnel.

You wouldn't think it would be possible, with it being dark and all. But no, there they are. Bright, flickering video advertisements.

I'm not quite sure how they've done it - it seems to be projected from somewhere, but so that you still see the video projected on the wall even though the train is moving.

So that's the end of sitting slumped against the window vacantly staring at the pipes on the wall as the train goes through the tunnel. Is nothing sacred any more?

Admin note: Edited to include above image from the link provided by benpanter

They set these kinds of ads in Boston last summer on the red line... very strange.

They use multiple projectors overlayed and sync'd to over come the moving factor...

Seems to be an overly complex solution - why not just mount the projector on the top of the train carriage?

Cause then they would need multiple projectors for every train.
When setup in the tunnel they only need 1 installation of Multiple projectors. It sound complicated, but its actually quite easy to install...

Also, in the tunnel the system is protected from the elements more, than if it were on the train.

Seen it first time yesterday between Stachus and Marienplatz, thought it's an LCD running at the same speed as the train, but then realized that this probably would be to complicated and expensive and looked for the projectors on the outside of the train when I got off, but couldn't see any. Where are these projectors?

Edit: OK they're in the tunnel... still seems complicated...

Now I'm interested. Are you certain that they are not train mounted? I would have thought that was far, far cheaper (even given that you have to install them on each carriage) than some ubercomplex multiple projector thingmijig. Also you'd be able to target the advertising to different U Bahn lines...

But then you would need a projector for each train, rather than each tunnel and the targeting you could do with a bit of programming, since they are timed. Yeah what Darkknight wrote before.

Just seen this:

http://www.signweb.com/outdoor/cont/subwayad.html

Now it makes sense. They're static images that flash, and appear to be animations, rather than moving projectors. Fair enough.

They are not projectors (far too complicated and expensive). They are synchronised light boxes on the tunnel walls

Edit: benpanter beat me to it. Nice link

Have seen this somewhere before. Rome or Berlin, I think. Maybe Paris. Anyway, not totally new, but still very interesting.

Is it just me, or is this a total geek-thread?

When will they project Coca-Cola on the moon and when will they invade our dreams with ads?

I saw this and must say it was pretty annoying - the constant flickering as we zoomed past pretty much set me up with a headache for the morning (I tried not to look, but as they said in A Bug's Life - but it's so pretty!! [the light]).

I noticed it last night as well, but the ad finished before I could figure out what it was for.

You mean that drunken guy was just projection? And he seemed so real. Took me a while to work out what he was for too.

THAT drunken guy - good on you for talking to him. I couldn't understand a word he said (except for good bye when I got off).

Just saw "Alice", that annoying internet provider woman, sprinting to keep up with the S2 from Karlsplatz to Marienplatz. It was tiny, about the size of a TV screen.
Like the idea though, would be nice if they could use it for more than ads. You could have a "Road Runner" chase that changes every once and a while, like the Brown Maus cartoons on the static U-Bahn screens.

It's nice to see how they invest my money.

It's not your money if you give it to them in exchange for a ticket.

These aren't just investments, they are intended to be income generating, so should be saving you money by keeping down the price of your ticket...

In the Hbf I saw some Alice advertising panels on wheels moving among passers by. A man on the terrace had a remote control.

Alice! Alice! Who the fuck is Alice!

Sorry! couldn't resist!

From benpanters link:

What's sacred about an S-Bahn tunnel??

Could have swore I saw a huge poster at Karlsplatz on the platform wall down towards the end of the tunnel that goes past the add. The poster looks like it explains how the setup works.. Anybody in the area have a look, its a large poster with like 30 number pictures on it..

Did you download it and set as background picture on your PDA?

I think it borders on the surreal, that regardless of the subject matter, within TT theres always a handful of people, who have indepth technical knowledge on the subject!

Editor! Open up a technical consultancy, all this talent is going to waste!!!

QUOTE: "You wouldn't think it would be possible, with it being dark and all"

Now, I'm not that technical, but I would like to point out that projection tends to work best when its on the dark side, rather than in direct sunlight for example...

I thank you for you attention
S

It's not the tunnel that's sacred. Now you can't even sit "slumped against the window vacantly staring at the pipes on the wall as the train goes through the tunnel" without having advertising shoved down your throat. Bastards.

IAWTP! I'm sick of ads everywhere. They doubled the number of billboards just in the Karlsplatz/Stachus halls between the S- and U-Bahns about a year ago. On one side of the Hackerbrücke platform you can no longer see anything but billboards. They're experimenting with video screens for ads in U-Bahn carriages. There's advertising on ticket backs and receipts. Give it another 10 years and fucking ads will be blaring over the speakers in trains and on platforms around the clock, Cultural Revolution style.

woof.

Anyone remember Minority Report with its annoying personal ads? There is a technology that is like a sound canon that can send hyper-sonic sounds over a distance in such a way that only the target hears it. You won't need it blaring over speakers: an RFID tag or cameras with facial recognition software that will ID you so that you can have personal ads that only you can hear. It it evers gets that far we will have to revolt! Also anyone read "Jennifer Government"? great book.

Too many ads prostitutionize cities. Or the companies that do it.

"What is wrong with advertising? Don't you want to find out about top brands a low low prices?" Amy Wong of TV's 'Futurama'. The show that showed us the advantage of "in dream" advertising. That will be next.

Glad someone posted this. I saw it too:

Between Karlsplatz Stacchus with the S-Bahn towards Marienplatz, I was leaning disinterestedly against the window and somehow just deep in thought -- which was why I was staring out into the tunnel when I saw Alice running along the tunnel.

I was quite impressed. They should have more of this, but the question is who normally looks out the window into the dark tunnels outside?

You don't need to looking out into the tunnel, the dam things so bright it will catch your attention...

This has been in Frankfurt since 2003 (so I have read). Also the speed of the train is important and hence sensors measuer the speed of train entering a tunnel and this impacts the frequency at which the pannels light up.

America claim to be the first again!

do the munich ads predate?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060404/ap_on_...bway_tunnel_ads

Apparently it will even make the trains faster: "It may make the trip a little shorter," said Dan Tangherlini. Wow!

i think it has something to do with the momentum caused by all the eyes trying to keep up with the pictures...

hmm, nope because the eyes are part of a closed system. more likely the train is being pushed along by a photon wind.

come to think of it, the quote is not that it takes less time, but that the trip becomes shorter, by which i presume he means in distance, not time. whatever, it must be to do with relativity, so the term "apparently" is more relevant than it appears. let me think about this...

possibly the train is passing these ads as it enters a sharp turn, thus allowing the relativity theory to apply and thus those on the outsid e of the train are travelling ahead in realtive space?

The journey appears to be shorter to those on the train because of the additional velocity thanks to the pressure of the extra photons. But because what is relevant is the time in the "outside" world and not the passenger's personal clock then the journey isn't shorter in time or distance. However he would be slightly younger on arrival than he would be had there been no ad (or if he had walked).

How bizarre. Quantum physics has sure changed a lot since I left Engineering school... used to be simple black holes and big bang/big crunch stuff, now we have these S-Bahn ads to deal with...

I believe part of the uncertainty as to where they'll pop up as well as the synchronisation difficulties they're having are directly related to instabilities caused by the normal 3-fold compacting of the 6th dimensional Calabi-Yau spaces. This is predicted in most variants of String Theory and is fundamental to M-Theory (a sort of Grand Unified String Theory).

That this is being proved practically in our M-Town is quite appropriate, although I think it may just be a further marketing play to show the visitors the country has more to it than the one-dimensional World Cup playoffs (sorry, I couldn't resist).

woof.

aaahhh...yeah...just finished a diacetyl verkostung...ok..what I wanna say about this subject, Quantum physics notwithstanding, is that well, to get to the essence of it all -Where does it stop? Advertising, advertising, advertising. I like my peace and quiet as well, anyone see the sunrise yesterday? If I´m walking around Munich being accosted every which way I look and told to buy this, or eat that, or wear this, or think this way...wtf? Has anyone ever felt like a pinball? Information overload I say.

A 2nd one of these systems is being/has been installed in the other tunnel running from Marienplatz towards Karlsplatz. It's not in use yet, but you can still see it on the wall as you go by.. So now you got vidz in each direction..