To promote its new Internet Explorer 9 in the USA, Microsoft will use gesture-controlled billboards. People will be able to use hand and arm movements to interact with ads and view its content.

Photo: the Hunger Game poster by Internet Explorer, from www.microsoft.com

Created by 3D Exposure and Clear Channel, the campaign that uses the slogan ‘beauty of the web’ is aimed to emphasize the new IE’s features such as high speed and user-friendly interface. The posters also promote Internet Explorer’s companion website for the recently released Hunger Games film, says Marketing Week.

Last month Microsoft teamed up with Lionsgate, as well as with leading design and developer agencies the Nerdery and Ignition Interactive to launch The Capitol Tour web site dedicated to the film. The site offers users an immersive experience and includes exclusive content from director Gary Ross and the movie itself.

The outdoor ads use age and gender recognition technology and proximity sensing, they can track also faces to create a virtual ‘identity card’ for each user, which gives them access to exclusive content on the film’s microsite.

Gabby Hegerty, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Windows Live lead, commented: “It makes sense to use creative and interactive marketing channels to promote the best of the web. We hope this new format will create a buzz and generate a positive perception about what the Internet Explorer brand is about.”

The campaign also includes online, cinema and TV ads. This is the first time that Internet Explorer is promoted separately from other Microsoft products.

According to Hegerty, the campaign’s aim is not make Internet Explorer a dominant browser, but to “drive the web forward” and showcase users all of its capabilities.

Earlier, Microsoft was promoting Internet Explorer 9 in a fun way under the slogan ‘The browser you loved to hate.’