• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 5, 2011

When it comes to crime dramas, you can't get more engaged than actually helping to solve the crime. That's what TNT is inviting passers-by to do with a new promotion for the second season of "Rizzoli & Isles."

The drama, featuring a female crime-solving duo, detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), is set to air whose Monday, July 11, at 10 p.m. The promotion, located in New York City at 6th Avenue and 21st Street, combines digital out-of-home and experiential advertising.

With Pearl Media, TNT created a 100-foot-long display showing a fictional murder scene; passers-by can help the eponymous crime-fighters solve the crime by gathering clues from the scene, which includes open pill bottles, footprints, fingerprints and a sheeted "corpse" in the center of the scene.

An interactive video wall allows participants to dust for fingerprints, survey the crime scene, look at DNA evidence, and view an autopsy report to determine which of three suspects committed the crime. As each clue is logged, part of the crime scene lights up.

After solving the crime, the participant receives a photo showing him or her with TV characters Rizzoli and Isles, which appears in the DO display. It can also be shared via Facebook.

The installation includes NFC Mobile Interactivity, allowing participants to scan a QR code on the storefront to immerse themselves in the experience, even after leaving the "crime scene." The OOH effort runs through July.

Separately, in June, Pearl Media announced that it was creating a Hispanic division to target Spanish-speaking consumers with its distinctive storefront displays, which are currently available in 20 top media markets across the U.S.