Escape the map was an online advertisement for Mercedes-Benz. It offers an immersive, interactive experience for the viewer who becomes a participant in the map-based story. The work has drama, doesn’t overtly force the brand and follows a ‘choose your own adventure’ type plot. It’s sophisticated, memorable and unique.
The map and map related objects like the falling map pins and address (locator) are key metaphors in the story. The advert immerses you in the future, how we may use maps in cars and how important location is and will become not just for navigation but as a defining way of living. The heads up display on the electronic paper map works particularly well.
The work clearly illustrates how popular maps have become in the mass media and there are numerous references to familiar online web map services, virtual globes and their techniques (such as facial blurring on Google Street View) as well as having a sub-plot that references social media such as Twitter. This familiarity with ubiquitous mapping and social media tools means the advertisement hooks us into a familiar world to tell its futuristic story.
