• by Les Luchter , July 8, 2025

You stop at a digital ad outside a bus stop and, in a matter of seconds, receive a critique on your posture.

We don't know how this would fly in, let’s say, Manhattan, but over in Croatia, these interactive out-of-home ads reached 76.9% of the population over a three-month period, provided 106,642 free posture screenings, and resulted in a 46% increase in preventative spine check-ups for the advertiser, Croatia Polyclinics (Croatia Poliklinika).

What’s more, 97% of users instinctively corrected their posture during the body scanning itself, “indicating instant awareness, the first step toward lasting habit change,” according to WPP’s Bruketa&Zinic&Grey agency.

Not bad for a country where “nearly half the population unknowingly faces potential spine issues” and “reluctance to seek professional help has led to what is commonly known as a silent pandemic, hurting the nation's collective spine with alarming numbers” per a statement from Dr. Tatjana Kujundi, head of Croatia Polyclinics.

Croatia is hardly alone in having to deal with this problem, what with “sedentary lifestyles and constant device usage,” but “awareness of the issue is noticeably lower” than elsewhere, as is “public engagement in early intervention,” Bruketa&Zinic&Grey chief creative officer/co-chairman Davor Bruketa tells Marketing Daily.

The technology used in the ads, developed by Europe’s Go2Digita OOH network, “is simple, scalable, and drives real change,“ says Bruketa. “We absolutely see potential for it globally.”

Here's how this “Your Posture is Your Future” interactive experience, which Bruketa says takes just 40 to 50 seconds, works (You can see the billboard in action here):

The consumer stands in front of the digital billboard that’s equipped with computer vision and AI-powered software. The board scans their posture by analyzing the alignment of the neck, mid-back, and lower spine through eight key points. If an issue is identified, the screen prompts the individual to book an appointment with a physiotherapist on the spot via a QR code.

“Your Posture is Your Future” involved installations at 14 high-traffic areas across the country, whose area is about 1,000 times larger than Manhattan, but with a population only about two and a half times as large.

This isn't the first time Bruketa&Zinic&Grey has used interactive digital OOH to address a public health issue. In 2022, with COVID and the conflict in not-so-far-away Ukraine still fresh in Croatians’ minds, the agency ran an “Anxiety Meter” on behalf of Croatia Insurance. While using different technology, Bruketa says, “it helped inspire this kind of thinking where advertising becomes actively helpful.”

No matter who you are. “We didn’t target any specific demographic,“ says Bruketa. “Poor posture affects everyone, from teens to office workers to older adults. This campaign was built to reach the general population in the most democratic way possible - on the street.”

“People used to watch ads,” says Bruketa, “but now ads are watching out for people.”