Photo courtesy Cossette

As part of a national campaign promoting McDonald's restaurants, a downtown Vancouver lamppost became part of an out-of-home (OOH) optical illusion last month, appearing to pour coffee into a giant cup on the sidewalk.

At the time, McDonald's was giving away free small cups of its brew for a two-week period, in an effort to attract new breakfast customers. Ad firm Cossette's Vancouver office developed the concept for a lamppost near 6^th Avenue and Cambie Street. The post was wrapped in brown vinyl to resemble poured coffee, while an oversized carafe was attached to the end.

Elsewhere in the city, a transit shelter was turned into an 'hourglass,' with an ever-diminishing number of coffee beans reminding customers of the promotion's short-term nature.