Canadian creative agency, lg2, and Montreal illustrator-artist, Pony, have a nose for creating awareness about proper mask wearing. And the results are hilarious. In early December, Pony had an interactive screen installed in the window of her Plaza St-Hubert boutique to capture the naughty ways that passers-by wear their masks. As they stop to check themselves out on the screen, Mr. Lonely, a charming yellow penis, pops out of the end of their exposed noses, courtesy of an augmented reality filter.
This initiative, dubbed "Don't be a dick" or "Sois pas une graine" in Quebec (graine is a popular Quebec expression for penis) is a fun way to teach people how to wear masks properly — over their noses — while giving them a giggle during a pandemic.
For those not in the know, Mr. Lonely is a popular character created by Pony. "Mr. Lonely needs no introduction, so we thought he’d be the perfect spokesperson for an initiative encouraging people to not to be a dick and follow public health guidelines,” said Gabrielle Laïla Tittley, a.k.a. Pony. “The pandemic has inspired us to think outside the box and find unique, humorous ways to get the public health message across. And that’s more important than ever this holiday season.”
"We wanted to create an awareness message based on popular culture and this message can be understood anywhere in the world, regardless of language,” said Mourad Bouaziz, copywriter, and Romain Joveneau, art director, the creative team at lg2.
“We believe you can address a serious subject without taking yourself too seriously,” they added. “By proposing the project to an illustrator-entrepreneur like Pony, we knew we could push the limits and challenge people by literally shoving their behaviour in their faces. Pony’s colourful world is perfect for a pop-up interactive experience to raise awareness of a real problem."
“The animation only appears on the noses of people who are wearing their masks incorrectly or not at all," said Romain Prache, Director of Technology, Digital Experience at lg2. "We used the basic structure of a SnapCam filter and artificial intelligence to target people who weren’t wearing their masks properly.”
Mr. Lonely makes a surprise appearance on the noses of window shoppers at the Pony boutique until the end of December.
Until then… wear a mask (properly) and keep your pecker up!