Handset manufacturer LG launched an out-of-home campaign in conjunction with the film ?Avatar? to coincide with the launch of the latest Chocolate devices.

The two-week campaign featuring the new LG Chocolate BL40 and the forthcoming Chocolate BL20 ran across London 6 sheets and national bus T sides, in addition to the five interactive touchscreen bus shelter specials booked in London, Manchester and Glasgow. The digital bus shelters featured information about the LG handsets, plus characters and trailers from James Cameron?s ?Avatar? film, in theaters Dec. 17.

?James Cameron?s film ?Avatar? was created using revolutionary technology with never-before-seen special effects,? said Demetra Kavadeles, San Diego-based public relations manager at LG. ?As a mobile-phone manufacturer that continually pushes technological boundaries, we strategically chose to partner with a film that does the same.

?LG shares in the excitement around this cutting-edge, highly anticipated film,? she said. ?As a technology leader, we appreciate the research and development required to create a film like ?Avatar.??

LG Electronics Inc. is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances with 84 subsidiaries worldwide.

With 2008 global sales of $44.7 billion, LG comprises five business units?Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, Air Conditioning and Business Solutions.

The LG Electronics Mobile Communications Co. is a global mobile communications and information company specializing in handset manufacturing.

Kinetic is an out-of-home media agency that is 50 percent owned by the Kinetic management team and 50 percent owned by WPP.

Its complementary service divisions include Aviator, Joule (formerly Kinetic Mobile), Kinetic People, Kinetic Intelligence, Zone and Hi Resolution. The agency has global billings of $4.4 billion.

LG also tapped creative agency Y&R and digital agency Kodu Digital.

Engaging bus commuters
The interactive bus shelter 6 sheets implemented by JCDecaux Innovate hosted a 42-inch touchscreen combined with a PIR motion-activated system and camera.

When inactive, the screen features the eyes of Na?vi?a character in the film?until a member of the public approaches and the motion sensor activates a talking Avatar before the new Chocolate LG40 comes into the shot.

A short video shows the touchscreen and QWERTY keypad navigation, a walkthrough of the Web browser, Google maps and GPS applications before going to the media browser and selecting a video clip which launches the 30-second Avatar trailer.

Returning to the media browser carousel, the user is then invited to opt in by pressing icons on the screen to view more product information, take part in a competition or view the trailer again.

Mindshare and Kinetic handled the media planning and buying for this campaign, which was supported by online activity produced by Kudo Digital.

The partnership will be supported through a TV spot that features the ?Avatar? movie trailer footage projected from LG eXpo and an interactive microsite, which includes exclusive movie content.

The campaign?s TV ad began airing Fri., Dec. 11, on CBS during NCAA games and ESPN.

The TV broadcast ad is also running during cable programming such as CSTV, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Discovery, G4, History Channel, Science Channel, Spike, SyFy and USA.

?We strategically placed these ads on networks and during shows that have a large number of young male professional viewers,? Ms. Kavadeles said.

LG said that it wanted to have an impactful execution that would bring the new LG Chocolate?s feature set to life in an accurate and creative way that would both grab attention and involve consumers in the content.

Kinetic said that this campaign demonstrates the ability of out-of-home advertising to both raise awareness on a mass audience level and also to immerse and educate consumers on a one-to-one level.

Despite the high-tech, interactive nature of the campaign, there were a few missed opportunities.

An SMS call-to-action in the bus shelter would have given LG and Avatar the opportunity to ask consumers to text a keyword into a short code and opt in for alerts, coupons or future remarketing.

For this campaign, there is not a mobile-optimized/WAP version of the microsite, and there is no mobile advertising in conjunction with the campaign.

In addition, LG and ?Avatar? launched an exclusive joint-sponsored Facebook page between Fox and MTV.

?The partnership and campaign was created to reach our more forward-thinking technology enthusiasts?those consumers who look for and appreciate the latest mobile-phone innovations,? Ms. Kavadeles said.

?In our marketing campaign, we feature the LG eXpo, which has Windows 6.5 and an optional attachable mobile projector,? she said. ?This handset?like the 'Avatar' film?uses revolutionary technology to deliver a greater consumer experience.?