See Why Tomb Raider Hung a Jeep on the Side of a Building

 New Yorkers walking by 52nd Street and Broadway on Wednesday may have noticed that it was snowing-but only around that city block. The early October snow is fake, part of an experiential billboard for the Oct. 11 release of the Lara Croft game, “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” on Play Station 4.

The 64-foot-tall 3D billboard, which includes a 2,000 pound Jeep Wrangler hanging from the side of a building, was created by Out of Home America Wilkins Media and Liquid Advertising. It will be up, and pumping out fake (environmentally safe) snow for the next four weeks. The FDNY and other city officials examined the billboard for safety.

“We’re all huge Tomb Raider fans at Liquid, so when [game publisher] Square Enix wanted to put together a giveaway to support the big PS4 launch, we knew we had to create a big, vertigo-inducing outdoor scene to show off the prize Jeep,” said Patrick Runco, vp and executive creative director, Liquid Advertising.  “And it was a chance for us to have a little fun with Times Square, in that the Jeep is in a parking spot that maybe only Lara Croft could possibly get.”

Patricia Turosz, vp of client partnerships and experiential for Out of Home America Wilkins, agreed. “Lara Croft is subjected to extreme weather (wind, rain, snow and ice) in this game and must overcome a great deal to survive. We wanted to bring some elements of the game to life with this billboard in a unique and memorable way.”