Outdoor advertising in India has always been about scale but in recent months, it’s not just size that’s turning heads, it’s spectacle. From sofas suspended high above Mumbai’s skyline to giant handbags bursting out of billboards, brands are pushing outdoor media into the realm of theatre, creating installations that are impossible to ignore.
The latest wave was led by Myntra during the birthday sale for its MNow platform. In collaboration with SW Network, the brand created India’s first fully edible billboard. The onlookers were left genuinely amused after being asked to check if the hoarding was cake. The only way to find out? Take a spoon and dig in! A few months ago, Amazon too rode the wave by dangling a sofa in the air with the cheeky line, ‘The sofa won’t drop; its prices will’, as part of its Great Indian Festival campaign. Flipkart followed close on its heels with an equally attention-grabbing Big Billion Days OOH stunt, turning vast farmlands into ad spaces, near airport locations ensuring travellers were greeted with a larger-than-life reminder of the sale before even boarding their flights.
Neville Shah, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Kinnect, the agency behind Flipkart’s unconventional outdoor campaign, highlights, “Sometimes, a hoarding isn’t enough. Everyone’s fighting for the same eyeballs on the same traffic junctions. A hoarding, a bus shelter, a digital screen, it does the job, but it rarely stops you in your tracks. What used to be ‘that bold activation in a city square’ is now seen by millions through social media, news portals, and even on LinkedIn - which in some instances turns local spectacles into national conversation. For our crop circle activation, we didn’t just launch a sale. We created something you had to see, even if you were thousands of feet in the air.”
Speaking on the challenges faced to execute the activation, Neville further adds, “It starts with convincing everyone (internally and the client) that it is even possible. From permissions, to weather that refuses to cooperate, to production teams pulling off the impossible at 3 a.m. But honestly, that is the fun. If it were easy, it would not be spectacular.”
Pratik Shetty, Vice President - Marketing and Growth, Flipkart says, “With traditional OOH, ROI can be measured with impressions, earned media, engagement, brand lift. But the real return on spectacle OOH is cultural relevance and impact. When a brand shows up in unexpected ways, it gets talked about in unexpected places. That is priceless. The idea lingers in consumer minds long after the spectacle comes down. Our Flipkart mediascapes were picked up by every news outlet, shared by travellers, and posted across LinkedIn. Spectacle OOH is not a line item on a media plan; it is a moment in brand history.”
Recently Irth by Titan, made jaws drop with its 3D billboards featuring handbags jutting out in dramatic fashion, turning an ordinary hoarding into a selfie magnet.
Kanwalpreet Walia, Business Head, Bags Division, Titan Company Ltd. says, “At the heart of it all is the consumer and how a brand can meaningfully connect. It’s about storytelling, about embracing innovation that enhances storytelling. With the Irth Mumbai 3D OOH campaign, our goal was to create impact with creativity, own what distinctly defines Irth, and find the right medium to express the brand.”
Yogesh Lakhani, CMD, Bright Outdoor Media Limited says, “I believe for categories like automotive, lifestyle, luxury, tech, and entertainment, spectacle OOH allows a brand to establish scale, aspiration, and cultural impact. It delivers a larger-than-life, high-impact presence. In my opinion, Spectacle OOH is resurging because of its social and digital media integration, it not only engages passers-by but also multiplies its reach when shared online. Spectacle OOH offers the drama and scale to break through. In terms of logistical Challenges, first one is ‘Permissions & Regulations.’ Large-format and experiential OOH require multiple clearances from municipal bodies, traffic departments, and safety authorities. Another challenge is “High Investment & Production Complexity” From engineering safety for building wraps to installing giant LED façades, spectacle OOH requires significant upfront investment and technical expertise. As far as ROI is concerned, I believe Spectacle OOH is about impact, brand recall, and amplification. It helps in building long-term equity.”
So why are brands choosing spectacle OOH over traditional billboards? The answer lies in creating a buzz louder than the others. In a landscape where every second commuter is glued to their phone and every available surface screams with ads, traditional flat messaging can blur into the background. Spectacular formats break this monotony. They interrupt the auto-pilot state of commuters, transforming mundane spaces into unforgettable experiences that linger both in memory and on Instagram feeds.
Beyond eyeballs, this resurgence also speaks to a cultural shift. With audiences fatigued by endless digital bombardment, there’s something refreshing about real-world creativity that demands your attention. A tilted billboard or a flying sofa is not just advertising, it’s theatre in public spaces, an unexpected dose of wonder that people want to capture, share, and talk about.
Vaishal Dalal, Co-Founder & Director, Excellent Publicity, highlights, “We’ve seen campaigns that fuse spectacle OOH with digital amplification deliver 30–50% higher brand recall than traditional formats, with similar spikes in engagement through social mentions and user-generated content. The formula works because spectacle multiplies impact: placed in high-footfall zones, it doesn’t just catch the eye; it holds attention, often long enough to drive a second action. Of course, it’s not plug-and-play.
Spectacle OOH is an engineering project in itself. Structural safety, permits, cranes, weather risks, transportation, power, and lighting all of these add complexity, cost, and lead time. Regulations vary city to city, and delays can quickly eat into campaign windows. But for brands that manage execution well, the payoff is cultural resonance.”
Brands like Fastrack and Duroflex have been at the forefront of pushing this boundary. Fastrack’s UFO-themed campaign stretched across multiple cities with dynamic 3D effects, proving that outdoor can be both playful and futuristic. Duroflex, on the other hand, extended its Pride Sofa message beyond digital by turning bus shelters into installations and tilting billboards to challenge the idea that ‘life has to be linear.’ These weren’t just ads, they were cultural statements that provoked thought and inspired conversation.
Danny Jacob, Marketing Head, Fastrack highlights, “Spectacle OOH is emerging as a powerful way to cut through the clutter of everyday advertising. By interrupting the auto-pilot mindset of commuters, it transforms ordinary outdoor spaces into immersive experiences that capture attention and linger in memory with depth, light etc. Installations like our UFO campaign, executed across 7 cities, use 3D elements and dynamic effects to create visuals that not only engage viewers but also spark social chatter. While execution comes with challenges such as securing prime locations, managing complex fabrication, quick turnarounds and coordinating night-time installs, the results are undeniable: stronger brand recall, meaningful audience engagement and an advertising moment that stands out in an age of digital fatigue and constant screen exposure.”
The power of spectacle OOH also lies in amplification. A dramatic installation doesn’t just stay confined to the roadside; it finds its way onto social media feeds, news stories, and WhatsApp forwards, multiplying reach far beyond the physical location. A billboard that surprises you on the street can live a second life online, generating engagement that a static hoarding simply cannot.
Ullas Vijay, Chief Marketing Officer, Duroflex Group, says, “For Sleepyhead, it was important to extend our Pride Sofa campaign beyond digital in a way that echoed our message, ‘Straight isn’t the default.’ We transformed bus shelters in Bangalore into Pride Sofa installations and introduced tilted billboards that brought the idea of ‘life doesn’t have to be linear’ into the real world. The tilt was a deliberate design choice that made people pause and think about the campaign’s deeper meaning. While such campaigns involve higher logistical complexities, the returns lie in cultural impact, high recall, and the ability to spark organic conversations. In today’s omni-media world, spectacle OOH becomes powerful fodder for social media buzz, where the real amplification happens.”
Of course, the road to creating a spectacular OOH isn’t without its hurdles. Securing prime real estate, navigating permissions, fabricating complex installations, and executing overnight installs all demand precision and resources. But for brands, the pay-off goes beyond visibility. The ROI of spectacle OOH is measured not just in impressions but in engagement, recall, and cultural relevance. It sparks conversations, turns into photo ops, and creates moments people remember.
Junaid Shaikh, MD, RoshanSpace Brandcom highlights, “Spectacle OOH has been around for a while and is catching up due to its ability to provide cultural cut-through in our media-fragmented society. Unlike conventional OOH, which focuses on presence, spectacle OOH prioritises experience and memorability. In the past, we have had assets carrying creatives, premium brands such as Lufthansa showcasing ‘travel across the globe’, Philips and Maggi reinforced brand recall, while Tanishq’s Mia range appealed to urban women and Myntra, Nykaa, and KFC created unique pop ups to maintain aspirational yet mass relevance, plus campaigns for ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Pushpa’ transformed outdoor spaces into pop culture theatre.”
From Araldite’s iconic ‘Jode Kuch Bhi’ road roller installation to Amazon’s floating sofa, the message is clear, spectacle OOH is not just making a comeback, it’s redefining outdoor media. In an era where the physical and digital worlds are intertwined, these bold activations act as a perfect bridge: delivering the scale and magic of outdoor while feeding the viral hunger of social media.
“Spectacle OOH has always been the bolder version of conventional formats. While traditional OOH gives you sustained reach and brand presence, spectacles deliver that larger-than-life moment which can break the monotony and create instant cultural impact. Take, for instance, a billboard that wants to communicate the strength of an adhesive. You could show a picture of a massive object being held together but the real impact comes when you transform the medium itself. A fabrication of that heavy object, protruding beyond the billboard, doesn’t just show strength, it makes people stop, look, and remember. That’s exactly what we achieved with Araldite’s ‘Jode Kuch Bhi’ road roller campaign at MOMS OOH. It wasn’t just an ad, it was an experience, and that’s the difference innovation brings to outdoor. We are seeing a revolutionary growth in brands wanting to engage with audiences this way because brands today want not just visibility but memorability. They want campaigns that spark conversations, travel across digital and social platforms, and integrate seamlessly into a larger 360° marketing plan with a composite and integrated impact,” says Jayesh Yagnik, CEO, MOMS Outdoor Media Solutions.
Spectacle OOH has always been about more than size; it’s about imagination. And as brands continue to look for ways to stand out, India’s skies, billboards, and bus stops are likely to become the next stage for advertising’s most daring performances.
