In 2006, McDonald’s has set up a billboard that functions as a sundial in Chicago. The sun creeps through the breakfast menu towards a burger n’ fries. The ad agency and an engineer did a great deal of research to find the perfect location create the effect. The aluminum set of McDonald’s arches (which are 4 x 3.5 feet) casts a shadow on a different breakfast item each hour until noon when it casts an undistorted shadow on a sandwich, signaling lunchtime.
From Chicago Business:
‘Designed by ad agency Leo Burnett with the input of an engineer, the billboard features a real sundial whose shadow falls on a different breakfast item each hour until noon, when the shadow of the McDonald’s arches are dead center.
The billboard, which went up near the intersection of Clark and Addison on Friday, is the latest in a campaign aimed at urging Chicagoans to turn to McDonald’s for breakfast.’
I love this idea. You can walk in to McDonald’s, order your food and then sit outside and watch the time as it changes over the course of the day. Or, you could just get your food somewhere else and sit and enjoy the sundial. Great idea!