For several years now, we’ve whined about the fact that while Las Vegas is bursting at the seams with digital signs, the creative is lagging. Where is the jaw-dropping 3D we’ve seen in Asia?
Well, Wynn Las Vegas has heard our kvetching and recently debuted a new 3D billboard that features elements of “Awakening,” the resort’s multi-bajillion production. The billboard is described as “the first-of-its-kind true 3D anamorphic billboard on the Las Vegas Strip.”
We have no idea when “3D” lost its hyphen, but the video is so cool, we aren’t even going to waste precious time ranting about it.
The new “Awakening” billboard highlights some key moments in the show, including a guy on a slackwire, a whale breaching, aerialists and a phoenix.
It’s fire. Not just the phoenix, the whole thing.
Here’s the billboard in action.
The billboard is located center Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard near Harmon Avenue, in front of the Waldorf Astoria.
Here’s a little inside baseball about the new billboard: “The billboard’s 110-degree angled corner is central to the 3D illusion, with all key moments designed specifically for that viewing angle. Although the screen is flat, every performer, character, and element was built as a complete 360-degree 3D asset, ensuring believable depth and scale. The animation team recreated the screen and surrounding Waldorf Astoria streetscape in 3D, allowing the content to be optimized for real-world sightlines and viewer experience. Creative concepts were developed into short cinematic micro-stories, each highlighting a defining moment from the show. Lighting and compositing were also tested rigorously across daytime and nighttime conditions to ensure consistent visibility and impact at all hours.”
We’re putting the budget at $1.356 million, mostly because specificity and authority are key aspects of all effective mansplaining.
In that spirit, here’s why Asia has been beating our ass in the realm of 3D outdoor advertising.
It’s because cities like Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai have newer, massive curved LED facades that are ideal for anamorphic illusions. They also have dense urban layouts that funnel foot traffic into precise viewing angles. Those angles are key to the visual impact of such creative.
On top of that, the reason it seems like Asia is winning the 3D wars is they’re more willing to treat billboards as spectacle and social content rather than just ad inventory, designing them to go viral on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Oh, we’ve only begun the mansplaining, sister!
It’s worth mentioning that “anamorphic” refers to a visual technique where an image is deliberately distorted so it looks normal only from a specific viewpoint. In outdoor advertising, it creates the illusion that objects are popping out of a screen or existing in real space, even though the surface is flat. The effect depends on perspective, scale, and often curved or corner-mounted displays.
The bottom line, though: 3D creative is exponentially more expensive to produce than traditional digital content.
Wynn Resorts has deep pockets, especially when it comes to its baby, “Awakening.”
We’ve heard estimates the show could be losing as much as $100,000 a week.
Tickets to “Awakening” have recently dipped to as low as $60, making the show a true loss leader (although, not by choice).
The show caught some flak when it opened, but has been revised several times since then. There have been a number of specialty acts added, including a woman who stands on a man’s head “en pointe.”
It is truly visually stunning and technically groundbreaking on a number of levels. The stage, the costumes, the massive puppets, the choreography; all truly impressive.
The “story” in “Awakening” is a little on the incoherent side, but it’s not really about the plot. It’s more about, “How in the holy hell did they do that?”
Wynn’s new billboard for “Awakening” is as visually arresting as the show itself and we hope other advertisers will take their cue from this work.
We also hope the new billboard will fill seats. “Awakening” employs a lot of artists, and where are the Light Being and Mother Darkness going to get gigs if not at Wynn? Long story. Just check it out. You’ve seen every Cirque show three times by now. The whale puppet alone is worth the price of admission.
