To create user engagement for MTV’s campaign for its quasi-documentary, “The Buried Life,” Monster Media (NYC) created the interactive ad, which can be seen at 521 Fifth Ave. At the storefront, passersby can submit a personal goal on a touchscreen, see a list of others’ wishes, and select a clip from the shows.
The show follows four puppy-eyed men on their countrywide journeys to mark items off their 100-top-things-to-do-before-you-die list while also helping strangers achieve their own goals.
Goals have included making People’s sexiest list; kissing Taylor Lautner, skydiving, finding a long-lost mother and becoming a father.
Back in 1852, Matthew Arnold explored, in his poem “The Buried Life,” why humans fail to communicate with each other. The reason, he said, is that we’re out of contact with “our hidden self.”
Many self-help books say the solution to contacting the “buried life” is passion – finding, and heeding, your true calling. I’ve found the lives of people in the sign industry to be truly unburied – they’re filled with passion for their craft. A recent SignWeb poll verified this.
When asked their favorite aspect of the sign industry, 47% replied the signage itself; 32% said new technology/techniques; 16% said working with client; and 5% responded to the nebulous “people in the industry.”
Also, to kick off Signs of the Times’ Twitter page (http://twitter.com/SOTMag), tell us about your “buried life.” What do you want to do before you die?