San Pellegrino is taking fans for a stroll through Taormina, Sicily, three minutes at a time.
“Three Minutes in Italy,” a campaign created by Ogilvy New York, is a Facebook app that enables people to virtually “walk around” the streets of Taormina via special San Pellegrino robots.
By liking the app, users can then get on the virtual queue for their chance to control one of the robots and remotely guide it through Taormina’s streets — San Pellegrinio chose the city of Taormina because that is where the ingredients for its fruit beverages come from. Through the Facebook app, users can click arrows to steer the robots around and tilt their heads. The life-sized roving robots are equipped with two-way audio-video connection and language translation capabilities so that users can locals can actually see each other and talk to each other. The robots are also accompanied by brand ambassadors to encourage passersby to interact with the robots and the online virtual visitors.
For users who’d rather not interact with the locals via video/robot, there is a “scenic tour” option where users can control a Skybot device that offers a birds-eye-view of the city.
The campaign runs daily until Aug. 17, from 9 am to 3 pm ET, so try out one of the robots and practice your Italian before it ends.
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