Take Remote Control of the Melbourne Tourist Experience

A brand-new interactive advertising campaign from Play Melbourne jumps energetically away from traditional advertising. In an attempt to allow tourists to experience a city before they actually arrive, the Remote Control Tourist lets online users control the movements of two real tourists and watch the results via live stream.

Essentially, you sign into remotecontroltourist.com using your Facebook or Twitter account. You can see the map of where the tourist is, what’s nearby, and their video and audio feeds. Then, just send a request for that tourist to do whatever you want. For example, "Find out if Manchester Press do Brazilian coffee." They don’t.

The logic behind the two peeps with camera strapped to their heads seems to be that typical tourism ads just show what the tourism company wants you to see, but as a tourist the experience is always totally different. So why not check out the tourist life before embarking on it, all from the comfort and safety of your own home?

The idea is not so crazy. The real-life tourist doesn’t have to acquiesce to every request, so nothing creepy or weird is going to go down. Plus, it appeals to the God complex that hides deep down inside us all — who doesn’t want to have complete control over somebody for a little while? It’s also oddly addictive to watch a total stranger responding to online requests like that.

So, if you want a chance to "go before you go" to Melbourne, check out the website between October 9-13.

Images via Remote Control Tourist.