• August 9, 2011

Building on Newcastle's "Taste the Lighter Side of Dark," three branded "Summer Spectacular" public art projects are designed to get people talking, texting, posting and "checking in."

"Trapped in a Schooner" at the historic Del Mar Racetrack aims to entertain race fans through an optical illusion.  One person stands in a special location, while another climbs inside a larger-than-life replica of Newcastle's traditional glass, the Geordie Schooner. The effect: it looks like they are trapped in a giant pint of Newcastle Brown Ale.

"Dark Shadows" is aimed at pub crawlers San Diego's night life hub, the Gas Lamp district. Using only a single light source and dozens of real-life Newcastle Brown Ale bottle caps, two well-known New York shadow artists have partnered with Newcastle to bring to life a 128-square-foot shadow sculpture reaching for a pint of Newcastle.

"Human Installations" will make customers look twice at some of San Diego's top on-premise locations. No, it's not a beer robbery in progress. It's a series of ingeniously installed human forms apparently trying to steal a keg of the "Lighter Side of Dark," on display through September.

Newcastle Brown Ale, a Heineken USA brand, is encouraging fans to post pictures of the "Summer Spectacular" to their personal social media networks. Foursquare check-ins at the Schooner installation will also be rewarded with special Newcastle Brown Ale merchandise. The promotion was handled by San Diego-based Vitro.--Tanya Irwin