To let travellers know about what lies undiscovered under the surface, a Slovak agency has created a unique way of presenting and showing the country’s most beautiful, and vast underground caverns. After working with the Slovak Caves Administration for years, Wiktor Leo Burnett finally made it possible for visitors to admire the well-hidden treasures of the subterranean world. Together they have created interactive Underground Periscopes from which one can see the underground magnificence by using 360-degree photography.
The Tatras are one of the main tourist attractions in Slovakia, and although the number of visitors is on the rise, the caves have noted a significant 50% drop in travellers’ attention in the last 8 years. Despite the fact that there are over 7,000 caves in Slovakia including the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, which are both UNESCO World Heritage sites. So, with the record-breaking popularity of both High and Low Tatras, the agency was presented with a question on how to get the masses of people to the world of wonder a couple metres below their feet.
By developing mobile periscopes, that were placed in popular tourist destinations nearby the caves, the agency presented tourists with a unique chance to use augmented reality to virtually visit 12 of the most intriguing caves. By turning the periscope, they can explore the caves in full-HD quality and, also, zoom-in to examine them closely. The tourists could also learn basic fact about the caves. As the first installations received great acclaim thanks to three periscopes that were touring along the country, visitors can now not only scratch the surface, but visit Slovakia through and through. The agency also won a Silver Drum Award for the campaign at the 23rd Golden Drum in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The agency also tried a similar, yet quite original approach of getting people to the caves – Underground Lifts. By adding a special button to several hotels’ lifts, it encouraged them to discover a magical world underneath and press the button to get to the floor ‘-10’. The visitors then could hear interesting information about the caves. So, if you’re thinking of visiting Slovakia, don’t forget to pay a visit to its magnificent underground cave world. (Unfortunately the following video is only available in Slovak.)
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