Melbourne Remote Control Tourist

Have you ever wanted to really see a city before you visited?  That's the main idea behind the wonderful new Melbourne Remote Control Tourist campaign from Tourism Victoria.  As you may remember, a few months back I highlighted the San Pellegrino remote control robot that allowed internet users to control a robot in a small italian square for a few minutes at a time.  Now Tourism Victoria has taken the idea the the nth degree by enlisting a combination of technology and remote control tourists.  The campaign allowed internet users to control one of four people roaming around the city of Melbourne from October 9th to the 13th.  Outfitted with a combination of livestreaming cameras, GPS backpacks and handheld computers the tourists can be controlled by users on remotecontroltourist.com via Twitter & Facebook.  The remote control tourists can be told where to go, what to taste and what to experience.  It's a brilliant idea in allowing potential visitors to truly see and experience the city of Melbourne before they go.  In the first two days this modern evolution of the classic subservient chicken saw the remote-control tourists drink 21 cups of coffee, 71 high-fives, handshakes and hugs, 28 selfies, 2 karata lessons, one busking session while traveling a combined 50 kilometers.

The tourists were available throughout the day, with highlights from each day turned around in hours and uploaded to the website and YouTube.  Check out the intro video below as well as the Friday highlights.  I absolutely love the idea and while technically challenging, you can imagine the wide future and application this will have across the travel industry, particularly as wearable technology such as Google Glass becomes more pervasive.  The project was created by Clemenger BBDO, Exit Films & Jason Zada (the guy behind the Cannes winning 'Take This Lollipop.')




Posted by: Reuben Halper