Outdoor advertising in Croatia recently received an unusual and playful campaign created by Barcaffè and the agency Pro Media Grupa. Last weekend, visitors to a Zagreb shopping mall were able to try an interactive ad they could “pet,” while in the city center an installation was set up where passers-by could take a free Barcaffè Cappuccino from a specially designed billboard poster.
The original Barcaffè Cappuccino campaign, developed in collaboration with the Slovenian agency 101 and media partners Go2Digital and Europlakat, put the spotlight on new solutions in the local OOH industry. The concept, which references the softness of cappuccino foam, was designed as a multi-sensory experience aimed at offering passers-by moments of relaxation and interaction in urban space.
As highlighted by Tihana Vujčić, Marketing Director at Barcaffè, the goal was to create the softest ad ever: “The fur-like texture immediately creates a feeling of comfort, the same one we associate with cappuccino.” The idea was executed as a double-sided DOOH citylight unit covered with soft, fur-like material, featuring a digital screen and a 3D product display.
“Although the citylight was originally planned for outdoor placement, due to the sensitive material it was installed inside a shopping mall, which turned out to be a great decision. Visitors stopped, petted the ad, filmed it, took selfies… The interaction was huge,” explained Ana Crljen Galović, PMG Group Account Manager responsible for implementing the campaign on the Croatian market.
The second element of the campaign consisted of billboard posters with an integrated sampling module, allowing passers-by to take a Barcaffè Cappuccino. As Crljen Galović noted, tactile materials on outdoor posters are not an ideal solution in winter, so the team had to shift its focus to a different type of interaction.
The installations attracted a lot of attention, and many passers-by used the opportunity to take the product, adding an additional level of direct contact with the audience.
The process behind the softest ads included aligning visuals, digital elements, soft materials and the sampling system itself, which required precise collaboration between different teams across all agencies.
The softest campaign is part of the wider Barcaffè Cappuccino 360° communication, which includes TV, radio and digital channels. Within this framework, the OOH segment represents a step toward less conventional formats in the local market. The installed advertising elements in public space combine experiential, visual and interactive approaches, demonstrating how OOH can be used in more diverse and effective ways within creative campaigns.
