New ad panels provide another dimension

Luminous Media, a Woodstock, Ontario, company, has developed what it calls the next big thing in advertising media, combining moving video images on a paper poster.

One of the first uses of the technology was as an eye-catching ad for a sports drink. The company, which makes electroluminescent advertising panels, has installed its paper-thin signs on walls throughout Montreal’s subway network. The animated ads, for a car company, feature a luminous red trace that lights up a black background to outline a cityscape just as the car itself shines into prominence.

Contrary to backlit ad panels, Luminous Media’s installations are paper-thin and malleable, meaning they can be installed on circular columns or angled walls. This makes them ideal for sports stadiums.

Michael Micacchi, Luminous Media’s director of operations, told the “Toronto Star” that the technology provides a third dimension to attract the eye. “This is more effective than LCD or digital and not as in your face. It’s halfway between a paper poster and a television.“

The company’s ad panels have already won awards, but it recognizes the difficult task ahead. The animation on the posters remains primitive, but Micacchi said that’s because advertising agencies have only just started designing projects to take advantage of the technology, which is based on special inks that light up when a 12V current passes through them.