Influencers have become a fixture in our everyday lives. Gym rats are capturing their workouts; pranksters are prowling for vox pop prey and TikTokers are dancing about. So, for those of us going about our everyday business, getting caught unwillingly in someone's content feels unavoidable. Until now.
In time for London fashion week, where influencers will be influencing in full force, Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, debuted CAPtured, a cap that protects its wearer from being filmed without consent. The cap uses real-time AI-powered vision technology to sense if a phone camera is being pointed at it. Once a phone camera lens is identified, a cover is instantly lowered over the face of the wearer, making them anonymous and free of the fear of going viral. Public safety being of utmost priority, the tech does not interfere with any security measures, like CCTV.
With the rise of content creators, videos of strangers recorded in public spaces have become normalised as viral content. Garnering millions of likes and views, this footage often attracts unsolicited comments about the unaware subjects. In turn, viewers have started to express their frustration around this modern-day headache in a myriad of ways, ranging from the comedic to the philosophical and bewildered. CAPtured was created to help amplify real conversation around responsible content creation.
The cap is an ultra-limited edition of one and was created in partnership with cult-status designer, Ancuta Sarca, whose pieces have been worn by celebs like Rihanna and Charli XCX. It was unveiled at London Fashion Week, one of the most content-crazy events of the year.
While the accessory aims to create conversation, it’s also meant to showcase the expertise of the company behind it. Bringing together creativity, tech and culture has long been part of Droga5 Dublin’s DNA, with projects like JFK Unsilenced with the Times, to Saylists with Apple Music. Experimentation is part of the agency’s M.O. and CAPtured is a playful passion project that allowed the team to expand their creative and production muscles while cheekily calling attention to an annoyance unique to our times.
Learn more at capturedcap.com
“We’ve always looked at how we can use tech to help solve very human problems,” says Droga5 Dublin CCO Jen Speirs. “CAPtured is no different. Once the idea was landed by the Dublin team, different people from the different Droga offices rowed on in to make the project come to life. We couldn’t be more excited about how it worked out, and about more work like this that will follow.”
