We tend to put celebrities, stars, and other world-known people on pedestals, so that we can honor what they have done for society. Yet, Belgium decided to celebrate the residents of its capital city by putting the spotlight onto them. Why? Simple: to appreciate the way they are! For this week’s #ThrowBrandThursday, we get to see how normal people became monuments in a campaign by award-winning agency Rosapark for train company Thalys.

Because of the 2016’s terrorist attacks, the number of tourists in Brussels was getting quite low. The majority of them head up either to London, Amsterdam, or Paris. So, Belgium’s capital had to do something to show that it still has it!

To reverse this decline, the railway operator chose to show to the world how friendly the residents of the capital really are and how welcoming Brussel is via an interactive campaign titled “Human Monuments”. People didn’t have to simply believe this statement. They just had to observe how the passers-by were literally put on a pedestal to celebrate the beauty of their hometown.

To turn citizens into actual monuments, the Belgian train operator used a holographic booth, which people could enter and, using a full 360-degree camera, their image was immediately transformed into a five-meter-high, three-dimensional holographic statue. The residents who agreed to get morphed into a monument did this to prove to the world that their hometown is worth visiting.

So, during the three-day installation, the agency managed to render over 500 statues that captured a subject’s likeness and finished each hologram in two minutes flat. And we can tell you that it was indeed a success – thousands of viewers came to spectate, take part and post about the unusual experience.

But that’s not all. To further complement the campaign, the Paris-based agency carried out another operation. Titled “Bruxelles by Thalys“, it also featured several of the city’s residents. The story is narrated by Belgian singer Angèle who has already amassed over 420,000 Instagram followers and 20M+ YouTube views for her first 3 singles.

This continuation of the “Human Monuments” campaign comes as a poetic description of the town and its residents — people such as Rudy, an antiques dealer; Fernand, who’s watched the city evolve over the decades; and Alex, a fixture in the urban nightlife. To show just how attractive the city is, Thalys also invited a special guest, singer Angèle, who nicely complemented the one-of-a-kind visual adventure.

The 22-year-old Belgian singer gained international recognition thanks to her first three, above-mentioned hit singles, “La Loi de Murphy”, “Je Veux tes Yeux”, and “La Thune”. As a proud Belgian, the young singer is the one to conclude the video experience with a declaration that makes us plan our next trip to Brussel: “In Brussels, the real monuments are its people.”

Look, Thalys, we’ve already visited your hometown, but with this campaign, you convinced us to hop on a plane and go to Brussel once again, just to re-experience all the magical moments we had when we first came to the city. What about you? Fancy a trip to Brussels?

Credits:

Client: Thalys

Agency: Rosapark