Digitas Taiwan and Leo Burnett partner up to stop the TW's litterbugs with AI-powered God

Leo Burnett and Digitas Taiwan have joined force to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) -powered behaviour recognition detector, GOD-IS-WATCHING, that detects illegal garbage dumps for BaoXing Council in New Taipei City. When someone is detected dumping garbage improperly, a holographic God will be projected, reminding people to dump their garbage in a proper manner.

This comes as the city hopes to raise public awareness about the seriousness of littering. Despite the government’s efforts in keeping the city clean, the garbage dispose problem remains unsolved. Zhou Youjun, chief of village of Xindian district, New Taipei City, said in the campaign video, “The problem of littering has become more serious in the neighbourhood recently. When I wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning, piles of garbage scattered at the usual corner of the street.” Even though the government has imposed penalties of a NT$6,000 fine of littering, garbage was still randomly disposed on the streets.

The garbage truck music is something commonly known among Taiwanese citizens. Whenever people hear the classic, high-pitched tune, a surge of panic is triggered, and people quickly gathered on the streets with their bags of trash. It is common knowledge that the garbage truck will only come once at night, you will only get one chance to catch it each day. Plus, you will have to do it in ten minutes.

As a result, Leo Burnett and Digitas Taiwan stepped in with a developed a AI-powered device for the council. On the innovation and ideation side, Leo Burnett took charge, while Digitas Taiwan was in charge of the design and development. Leveraging on the Taiwanese’s belief in God, the agencies are well aware that Taiwanese fear to commit wrongdoings if God is watching. As the saying goes, God is watching (人在做，天在看). Drawn on such faith and belief, the agencies integrated humanity, creativity and technology to develop the “God is Watching” surveillance system.

Taking reference from Tudigong, the God of Land, the device runs analysis of human garbage dumping behaviour, combined with AI deep learning and holography. Tudigong is refered in Taiwan as a family elder, making him the ideal God, stern yet friendly, to remind people not to dump their garbage illegally. When random garbage dumping behaviour is detected, the holographic “God” will appear and condemn the litterer. The “God” will turn into an angered face and the saying “God is watching” will appear.

Commenting on the campaign, Kevin Yang, CEO and CCO at Leo Burnett Taiwan, explains, “Most people don’t dump with bad intentions, so creating a little holographic god was the silliest way we could think of to show BaoXing Council how creativity and technology can make our neighbourhoods better.” 

A spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the campaign is a lighthearted way of demonstrating how the creative industry can collaborate more closely with local governments and communities to put creativity into action. Instead of traditional warning notices with potential fines, the agency wanted to show BaoXing Council in New Taipei City how creativity and technology can help to reduce illegal dumping of garbage in an innovative way. The whole process from testing to implementation took three months, and it is hoped that the GOD-IS-WATCHING Behaviour Reconition Detector will return to Taiwan later this year, the spokesperson expected. 

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Leo Burnett and Digitas Taiwan launched a pilot programme for the GOD-IS-WATCHING Behaviour Recognition Detector after two months of planning and testing. It received attention in three months that illegal waste dropped by 73%. Based on its success in the pilot, the New Taipei City Government is looking to further implement this cooperation, expanding the technology to more New Taipei City neighbourhoods.

This is not the first occasion Leo Burnett Taiwan has demonstrated its capability in delivering creative campaigns that leverage on AI. Back in February last year, the agency collaborated with Lay’s to deliver a web experience using AI for fortune telling as a fresh take on Chinese New Year traditions. Simply scan the chip using Lay’s Fortune Telling “lucky cam”, it will reveal your fortune predictions in areas such as wealth, health, love, family and school.

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