You may think that once you've seen one
building turned into a
massive billboard you've seem them all, but that would mean you probably haven't seen the so-called "Media Facade" now adorning Bayer's former HQ in Leverkusen, Germany. Built by
ag4 media facade GmbH and GKD AG, the massive display apparently consists of 5.6 milion LEDs that cover the entire 17,500 square meters of the building, and which can be lit up at will to pump out gigantic advertisements worthy of any science fiction movie. You'll note this is the former Bayer headquarters -- it seems that the promise of 'round the clock ads visible for miles around saved the building from the wrecking ball. Head on past the break for a video of it in action, and a second showing the facade being constructed.
[Thanks, Gerrit]
posted Oct 9th 2009 5:59AM
what a waste...
Exactly what I was thinking. Why would you waste a screen like that with a picture of a leaf when it could be playing video games or pr0n.
I completely agree. What a sad commentary on our society to make this for advertising. The mind control must never end, never. Sheesh.
The waste is the design team they hired to build the content for their building. My lord - what a DULL presentation. I get that there is probably a city request/law not to play too fast of motion video up there. A lot of places don't want use commercials playing due to traffic accidents. But you can still create something far more eye-catching that that.
Remember when they sold Heroin?
For some reason this reminds me of the movie Repo
This is MASSIVE!
We're also in the outdoor LED advertising business and this changes the game! We must have it!
To say this is a potential target for a hacker is the understatement of the century...
[they have anti-billboard laws in that part of Germany?]
probably should have used the third picture...the first looks photoshopped
nevermind its a youtube vid
Hi Kenneth
I wonder if they'll show any NFL games.
Haha, NFL in europe, good one :)
Europe is as interested in the NFL as the average american city-dweller in tibetan yak-milking contests.
Is that the new Windows 7 Screensaver?
Looks like my colon.
That is epic but you know some one will hook up a Playstation or Xbox and do a truly epic gaming session
Can You play HALO on it.
those selfish bastards!
In the first couple of seconds I thought Sadako just showed a couple thousand people the Ring.
Isn't the format 16:9 and not 9:16...someone made a terrible mistake but don't tell anyone.
It looks like Blade Runner's skyline.
Or maybe Futurama's skyline.
That's actually pretty cool.
So they gutted the whole building down to the steel girders and concrete, then painted the whole skeleton, just to put these displays on all four sides of the building? Seems like a lot of trouble to go through and a bunch of wasted space in the building just to do this, but it does look very cool and I am sure they could sell space on it very easily if it is even open to outside advertising use.
I'd be pissed if I lived near that and had windows facing that. Lol!
build a massive TV, cause more headaches, sell more aspirin... scary.
hahaha fkn scary. And it's probably killing tons of those leafs shown with its carbon footprint.
Wow this screen is gonna be great for fifa world cup 2010
that's beautilicious!
Ha! My father-in-law works there and they are coming to visit us for 2 weeks tonight. I'm gonna ask him about this and see what he thinks.
I was there several years ago. A very green, peaceful, and natural place with gardens and such. This would have definitely killed the experience!
Frank's 2,000 inch TV.
Thank you. It's amazing to see the building-size advertising this article reports on, but it puts in perspective even more when I scroll down to see such a pathetic advertising attempt in the comments on a tech site.
I worked for Bayer 1984-1989. They had a 150 foot diameter "Bayer Cross" on the Rhine River in Leverkusen with old school incandescent lights back then (http://www.logodesignlove.com/bayer-logo-design)
I imagine this is actually more eco than the old sign. In any case they been doing this for a long time and it's really just an upgrade.
I wonder if they will advertise what the BAYER company was up to in 1942 on that nice bright screen. mmmm i wonder.
Talk about vanity! sheesh. Imagine if MTV erected one of these to promote music videos.
When did MTV start playing music videos again?
Viva Las Leverkusen!
Hmmm.... a new definition for being Green?
I can see this causing a few traffic accidents
*sighs* Welcome to the future of light pollution. The world will some day be nothing but neon glow in large downtown areas. So bad they I expect migraines to occur due to the brightness, flashing, moving text\pictures. Then again if it gets bad enough I wouldn't be at all surprised if regulations occur to determine how bright and how active the screen is. similar to how skyscrapers need to go through an evaluation process for size before they can be built. (There was a fear during the initial creation of those monster buildings that there would be so many, in such proximity, and so high that the sun would be blocked out for miles on end. This didn't happen, but it caused regulations to be put in place.
"Oh my god, it's full of stars!"
"Oh my god, it's full of LEDs!"
T, FTFY.
Throw some cameras in the mix and make the building disappear ... that would be cool.
Laaaaame!
Look at the Huangpu waterfront in Shanghai and you will see more of this, but bigger, fancier and ...
look for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXM5KXXv2ME
(or search for "" at youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90JN1Wzeq2I
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S3bQtmFaE
...and not sure if the Bayer Ads-Screen will be seen by sooo many people ;-)
Seen by all of the internet, that's a reasonable amount of people.
For impressing that internet crowd they could have faked it by using windows movie maker instead of tons of LEDs. Would have been the more cost-effective ;-)
This destroyed Gunnar, Bayer's neighbor, he just purchased a 32" Vizio with glee last week...
most annoying thing ever.
but will it display crysis?
Remember when Bayer gave people HIV knowingly?
Image playing Left 4 Dead on that baby.