Out-of-home advertising continues its recent quest to make the outdoors a better place to live—not just a place to sell stuff—with interesting billboards in Brazil that kill mosquitos, and hope to make a dent in the spread of the Zika virus.
The boards were designed by Brazilian advertising agency NBS and OOH agency Posterscope, both part of Dentsu Aegis Network. Their panels are equipped with technology that attracts and kills the Aedes Aegypti mosquito—by mimicking the essence of human sweat and breath.
The boards emit a solution into the air containing lactic acid, which reproduces the smell of human sweat, and also carbon dioxide, which replicates human breathing. The combination of these substances attracts mosquitos at a distance of up to 2.5 miles, the agencies say.
The headline on the ads reads, "This billboard kills hundreds of Zika mosquitos every day."