01ARTICLE
Published on
If you want a FOOH or 3D billboard film in London, start with one distinction: a 3D anamorphic billboard plays on a physical screen and is watched on site, while FOOH is a video built on real London footage and watched on social media. Most of the “3D billboard” clips in your feed are actually FOOH, and they spread on the strength of the idea rather than a screen booking. This guide covers when each route makes sense in London, which formats work, and how FOOH ad production runs when the studio works with you remotely.
3D billboard or FOOH: which one does your London campaign need?
If the goal is to stop people in a square, a physical 3D billboard is the natural starting point; if the goal is to reach an audience far beyond the street, FOOH usually is. Both aim for the same visual jolt, but they are watched in different places and the budget goes to different things.
| Factor | Physical 3D billboard | FOOH film |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is watched | In front of the screen, on site | On platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts |
| Choice of location | Limited to where the screen is | Any recognisable spot in the city |
| What shapes the budget | Screen booking, airtime and content | The complexity of the idea, number of locations and versions |
| Who it reaches | People passing the screen, and whatever they share | An audience well beyond the city, depending on distribution and how shareable the idea is |
| Best suited to | On-site experiences, events, store openings | Launches, social campaigns, brand awareness |
The two are not mutually exclusive. A brand can run a FOOH film on social and, where it makes sense, cut a version of the same idea for DOOH screens. For a fuller comparison, see our guide to FOOH vs 3D anamorphic billboards.
Why London works so well for FOOH
London's landmarks are recognised everywhere, and FOOH works by putting something unexpected into a place people already know. When a viewer recognises the bridge, the red double-decker bus or the riverside in the first second, the giant product or message added to it lands with far more surprise.
The second advantage is reach beyond one market. For a Turkish brand expanding abroad, a scene staged in London says “we are here now”. For a brand growing across Europe, one film reads clearly in several markets at once. When the idea does not rely on language, the same film can travel between countries without a re-edit; keeping on-screen text and subtitles as a separate layer protects that flexibility.
Third, London's streets already speak the language of outdoor advertising. Billboards, bus shelters and shop windows are where people expect ads to live, so the moment FOOH breaks that habit, it earns attention.
Which FOOH formats work in London?
The formats that work best in London take something the city is already known for and change it with one clear idea.
- A giant message or product on a landmark: a bridge, tower or riverside becomes the stage for the product or the message.
- A billboard breakout: the classic poster site cracks open and the product spills into the street; the most direct way to bring the 3D billboard look to social.
- Store and high-street illusions: a shop window or façade takes on an impossible scale; a good fit when you want to amplify a physical store event.
- Street furniture takeovers: everyday objects such as a bus stop, a phone box or a Tube entrance open up into the brand's world.
- Sky and river scenes: giant objects rising over the skyline or on the water give you wide, cinematic frames.
Which one suits you depends on the product's silhouette, the campaign message and whether there is a physical activation behind it. Our piece on FOOH formats for product launches looks at the same choice from a launch angle.
How a London FOOH project runs between Istanbul and London
The project runs remotely, in clearly defined stages: brief, idea and approval, a shoot where needed, production, edit and delivery. We hold meetings with the brand or agency team online and agree approval points and revision rounds up front.
Most of our FOOH films are built on real footage shot by our own team; depending on the brief, working on existing footage or producing entirely with AI is also an option. We recommend the route that fits your brief and explain why.
For delivery, we usually plan:
- A vertical 9:16 cut for Instagram Reels and TikTok
- A horizontal version for YouTube and the web
- Versions for DOOH and in-store screens where needed
- Copies with on-screen text and subtitles kept separate for different markets
We cover remote working in more detail in our article on working remotely with a CGI studio in Istanbul. If you are a London agency, our page on CGI and AI collaboration for agencies is written for you.
Examples from Clytech
Clytech is a CGI, FOOH and AI advertising studio based in Istanbul and London. We have worked with 85+ brands in more than 15 countries, and our work has passed 500 million views in total. Two of the examples below come straight from London and Europe; the other two show how the 3D billboard look translates to social media.
The Future is Here, London
A giant banner unfolds across London's iconic bridge and reveals the message “The Future is Here”. Produced as Clytech's own brand piece, this vertical FOOH illusion weaves the message into the fabric of the city and was built to travel on social media. See the The Future is Here London film for details.
PROJECT VIDEO
MAD Parfum: the billboard breakout
A giant perfume bottle smashes through a city billboard, dissolving the line between reality and imagination. Our FOOH illusion for MAD Parfum turns conventional outdoor advertising into a brand experience designed to spark conversation online, and it is the closest reference for any brand considering a poster-site idea in London. Watch the MAD Parfum billboard film.
PROJECT VIDEO
Nutella: a 3D billboard illusion
In our vertical film for Nutella, the brand becomes a city-scale spectacle through a bold 3D billboard illusion. The giant-screen effect makes the product's familiar identity impossible to miss and pairs the pull of the 3D billboard format with the brand's warm world. The Nutella 3D billboard film is a clear example of how the format plays on social.
J.Lindeberg, Stockholm
To amplify J.Lindeberg's outdoor activation in Stockholm, we produced a film in which drones carry a giant version of the brand's new shoe across the city before it arrives at the NK department store. It gathered over 200,000 views across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and LinkedIn, and shows how a FOOH film can extend the life of a physical event. J.Lindeberg giant shoe film at NK
Frequently asked questions
Does a FOOH film run on a real billboard?
No. FOOH is a video built on real location footage and watched on social media. If you also want the idea on a physical screen, we add a DOOH version to the production plan from the start.
How does a London brand work with a team in Istanbul?
Remotely, with clear approval points. A short brief is enough to start; we reply within 24 hours with an approach, and the meetings and revision rounds that follow run online.
Do you produce FOOH elsewhere in Europe?
Yes. We have worked with brands in more than 15 countries; the film we made for J.Lindeberg in Stockholm is one example.
What shapes the budget of a FOOH film in London?
The complexity of the idea, the number of locations, the number of versions and formats, and revision rounds. There is no billboard rental in FOOH; our article on FOOH cost goes through each item.
Planning your next London campaign
Whether you are thinking of a screen people will see on site or a FOOH film that travels on social, the starting point is one clear idea and the right location. Send us your brief or start with our company deck; for product-led films, have a look at our CGI ad film production page too.