Red Robin is apparently going all-in with its cross-promotion efforts for Terminator: Genisys, which hits theaters July 1 and marks Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s return to the franchise that made his career.
Not only has Red Robin unveiled its monstrous Genisys Burger this month, but the chain has also enlisted the services of Vitro, its creative agency since 2013, and a team of Google engineers who in turn have given the display ad as we know it a Terminator-styled makeover.
The above demo clip featuring Red Robin pitchwoman “Melanie” hints at the fact that “Terminator Vision” initially looks like your average display ad unit until you go to this dedicated site, enter the unique URL provided into your mobile browser (no app necessary) and eventually unlock a rich media system developed by Google engineers.
It was admittedly a bit shaky on first try, and Melanie’s nonstop chatter can be grating, but Terminator Vision cleverly picks up on the latter as you see the world through the T-800’s eyes.
The machines, in this case, have become self-aware–but even more importantly, they’ve alleviated the usual banner ad boredom…for a moment, at least.