How Indonesia’s ‘See-Through’ Billboard Redefines OOH for the AI Era

On a humid Jakarta afternoon, a crowd gathers in front of City Plaza.

Nothing unusual—until a 30-metre billboard suddenly dissolves into the skyline behind it. A bubble tea tsunami pours down the façade. A dinosaur peeks between buildings. A space-time portal opens where a static poster used to be.

Nobody blinks twice anymore. And that’s the point.

Indonesia’s first “see-through” AI-powered billboard—part of Google Indonesia’s #BikinGebrakanLo campaign with DDB Singapore, Superson and Hagia Labs—isn’t just a headline-grabber.

It’s a glimpse into how Southeast Asia’s marketing ecosystem is quietly reinventing outdoor advertising for a generation raised on TikTok velocity and endless remix culture.

This is not an OOH ad. It’s a living canvas.

OOH Has Always Been Big. AI Is Finally Making It Alive.

The principle is deceptively simple—capture the actual architecture behind a billboard, then use AI to generate content that blends seamlessly into that physical space.

The implications are phenomenal.

For decades, outdoor advertising sat on the slow end of the content spectrum—months to produce, weeks to buy media, limited flexibility. It was the one medium that didn’t move at the speed of culture.

This campaign blows that model up.

• Real-time weather determines which assets play.
• Social trends spark new creative that can go live within 24 hours.
• Local creators can submit AI-generated content via QR codes.
• Architectural mapping turns each location into a bespoke storytelling backdrop.

OOH stops being a surface. It becomes a stage.

In a region where consumers spend so much time in traffic and out on the streets, that matters more than ever.

The Real Breakthrough Isn’t the Billboard. It’s the Team Behind It.

Everyone is talking about the “illusion.” But the real innovation is the workflow.

What used to take months—3D modelling, animation, rendering, approvals—was done in a matter of weeks thanks to a hybrid team model that should make every agency leader sit up:

• DDB Singapore shaped the creative mandate.
• Superson ran “Supersprints,” assembling modular teams from multiple partners.
• Hagia Labs handled the technical build.
• Google powered everything with Veo 3 and Nano Banana AI capabilities.
• Local Indonesian artists, students, influencers, and creators added cultural depth.

It’s the marketing version of an open-source orchestra—Specialists plugged in, sprinted, executed, and handed off.

This is not the traditional retainer model. This is not one agency delivering everything end-to-end. This is not a production house waiting for briefs.

It’s a modular, specialist-driven, sprint-based system—and brands are starting to prefer it.

Hybrid teams aren’t the future. They’re the now.

The Indonesia Effect: Why This Innovation Could Only Happen Here

Marketers sometimes underestimate Indonesia’s influence on regional creative output. But the country has three things that make it a perfect testbed:

1. A visually layered architectural landscape
   – Dense, eclectic buildings that amplify illusion-based storytelling.
2. A culture that embraces remixing and participatory creativity
   – From “ganteng local” memes to hyper-local TikTok formats.
3. A booming creator economy hungry for new playgrounds
   – QR codes on the billboards invite real Indonesians to submit content.
   That’s not an afterthought—it’s a signal.

This isn’t just “localisation.” It’s local co-creation at national scale.

OOH Enters Its ‘Always-On’ Era

The most underestimated shift is this—OOH is finally catching up with digital culture.

For the first time, marketers have a large-format medium that can:

• React to rain or sun.
• Plug into trending sounds.
• Morph with overnight social chatter.
• Invite creators to shape the story.
• Be produced in days instead of months.

It is no longer a fixed message. It is now constantly negotiable creative.

And that transforms how brands think about the streets.

Imagine billboards that change with football results.

Monuments that house AI-generated cultural commentaries.

Highways that become collaborative canvases during festivals.

Malls that host evolving storylines based on trending challenges.

OOH is finally dynamic, finally fluid, finally alive.

Why This Matters for Marketers in Southeast Asia

The campaign is world-first, but the blueprint is replicable.

The lesson isn’t “use AI.” It’s build the right team to use AI well.

Brands don’t need to own everything. Agencies don’t need to deliver everything.
Production partners don’t need to wait for instructions.

What marketers need now is:

• Strategy from one team
• Creativity from another
• Tech from a third
• Cultural input from many
• And sprint-based workflows tying it all together.

The winners in 2026 will be the brands that orchestrate—not consolidate—talent.

This billboard is proof.

A Street-Level Glimpse of the Future

Back at City Plaza, a child tugs his father’s sleeve as a dinosaur lumbers between buildings. A bubble tea wave rolls over the skyline. A portal opens, revealing a world that isn’t quite there—but feels like it could be.

It’s playful, but it’s also profound.

We are witnessing the moment outdoor advertising finally stops shouting at people…and starts playing with them.

Indonesia’s “see-through” billboard is not a gimmick. It’s a pivot point.

A reminder that in Southeast Asia, creativity doesn’t live in boardrooms. It lives on the streets.

And now, thanks to AI, the streets can talk back.