Have You Seen This Edward Snowden-themed Ad? Because It's Seen You

The subject of precedent-setting controversy, Edward Snowden has been called a hero, a hacker, a whistleblower, a dissident, a patriot, and a traitor. His disclosures have fuelled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the uneasy balance between personal privacy and national security.

His message? They’re watching you.

What Snowden did was bring a terrifying question to light, “Who’s watching us? Where? When?” 

And for two weeks in September, the unsuspecting citizens of Toronto will be the target of just that...being watched.

To help launch the critically acclaimed Oliver Stone film, “Snowden”, DentsuBos and Elevation Pictures set up surveillance cameras, equipped with motion tracking technology, around Dundas Square, Canada’s busiest intersection. Their mission is to track and follow pedestrians from afar while live streaming the footage onto one of the Square’s giant video boards. When the unsuspecting targets saw themselves on the big screen, their shocked reactions created all the drama needed to drive home the film’s point.

“It was very interesting seeing people’s reactions. Some felt violated, some terrified and some even praised it as the creepiest thing ever. Funnily, almost all looked around to see if there were other cameras spying on them. Which in itself is very telling," said the team behind the activation.

DentsuBos worked very closely with Cieslock Media to accomplish something that has not yet been attempted before and, through the process, often had to weigh the very same privacy questions and concerns that the film “Snowden” brings to light. It is a perfect marriage of message and medium. In addition to the Dundas Square activation, the film’s launch is being supported through online and  digital channels

The activation will be active until September 18th, 2016.