Interactive Pop-up With Rats and Runners

You know what marketers always say, “One man’s glowing doppelganger is another man’s latte-loving rodent.” Well, I bet they’ll say that after taking a look at these retail experiences that aggressively stretch the limits of interactive pop-up.

Nike is up first, with the world’s first LED running track. The epic arena, which spans an entire city block in Manila, Philippines, is shaped like a 100-meter sole print of the brand’s newly launched shoe, LunarEpic. The interactive pop-up features a 200-meter, figure eight running track lined with a continuous wall of LED panels. As a result, up to 30 runners at any given time can race against their digital selves.

Each runner is tracked on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensor attached to his or her sneaker. After the initial lap, an avatar of the runner will appear on the LED screens and run at the person’s previous lap time. As the athlete runs further and faster, the avatar will accordingly grow in size, encouraging the runners to beat their best lap time.

This interactive pop-up is as beautiful as it is functional. Nike has created a dazzling, digital pas de deux between athlete and light. It’s an awe-inspiring visual comment on the art of movement.

Our second interactive pop-up will not inspire any awe, except for maybe, “Awwww, hell, no!”

A rat-infested coffee bar is popping up San Francisco, I guess because vermin are less bothersome than hipsters writing screenplays.

A temporary addition to The San Francisco Dungeon (a live-action journey through San Francisco’s “hysterically horrible past”), the Rat Café has less to do with the furry creatures needing their daily caffeine fix and more with rats needing to find homes.

While human guests enjoy Rat-tucinos and Rattes at cozy, gingham-clothed bistro tables, the rodents scurry about, introducing themselves to potential rat mommies and rat daddies. The friendly rats (I guess that’s a thing?) are up for adoption through the non-profit Rattie Ratz, which rescues and rehabilitates the animals.

The Rat Café will be open on July 1 and July 8. For $49.99, guest will receive unlimited coffee and rat company, along with admission to The San Francisco Dungeon.

At first glance, these two examples of interactive pop-up have nothing in common except for the ability to raise the heart rates of participants. But the gorgeous glowing running track and the ratty caffeine haven share some important qualities.

Here are 20 ways these interactive pop-ups are alike:

1. On-brand
2. Ambitious
3. Detail-oriented
4. Immersive
5. Challenging
6. Audacious
7. Inconceivable (until now)
8. Extreme
9. Physical
10. Theatrical
11. Social media-friendly
12. Destinational
13. Personalized
14. Strategically creative
15. Unbelievable
16. Emotional
17. Well-located
18. Committed
19. Memorable
20. Objective-oriented