Times Square Halloween Billboard

The Groove Jones team was asked to create this eye-catching OOH experience that features Jack the Reaper as he smashes through this oversized digital billboard in New York’s Times Square and reaches out to grab onlookers below. The animation begins with the Spirit Halloween logo and URL callout. Then all of a sudden, a powerful force begins to punch the billboard as if it wants to break out.

The front and side panel begin to distort and shatter with every punch.

Then all of a sudden Jack the Reapers’ skeleton hands tear through the screens. Sparks and shards of glass go flying everywhere. Giant oversized bats fly out as Jack the Reaper reveals himself.

The dramatic effect is powerful and is created through a forced perspective illusion. It doesn’t take special digital hardware or technology to make this content work. Oversized displays that have a corner will work. We created this experience to work on a screen located at Broadway – from 45th to 46th Street.

This high-definition 4K digital billboard, called the “Digital Godzilla,” stretches an entire block that overlooks New York City’s iconic Times Square. The scale, scope and location of the display prime it for significant social sharing and amplification.

Videos of the billboard were all over social as visitors to Times Square captured the magical and spooky moment and shared it on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.