Uncapped Droga5

Droga5 Dublin’s new fashion accessory shields the social media-shy

The CAPtured tech-art piece that debuted during London Fashion Week protects you from getting caught in someone’s viral video

By Creative Salon

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 were influencing in full force, Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, created CAPtured, a cap that protects its wearer from being filmed, for social content, 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 instantly drops 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 by cult-status designer, Ancuta Sarca, whose pieces have been worn by celebs like Rihanna and Charli XCX. All visuals, stills and film, were shot by London-based photographer Samuel McElwee. The campaign 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 Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning projects like JFK Unsilenced with the Times, to Saylists with Warner Music and 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.  

“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 Droga5 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.”

Behind the Tech

CAPtured uses a Raspberry Pi Zero and the Raspberry Pi AI Camera. The system runs a one of-a-kind, custom phone detection model built and trained by the agency’s technologist. Everything happens within the cap’s built-in processor, in real time. No footage is stored or sent anywhere. When the system sees a phone pointed at the wearer, it triggers an inconspicuous servo which drops a visor to cover the face then lifts it when the phone moves away. It does not work with CCTV and operates fully offline.

Learn more at capturedcap.com

CREDITS:

Agency                                                                       Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song

Chief Executive Officer                                               Jimi McGrath

Chief Creative Officer                                                 Jen Speirs

Group Creative Director                                              Stephen Rogers

Creative Director                                                         Carina Caye

Copywriter                                                                   Niamh Aremband

Copywriter                                                                   Tobias Owen

Art Director                                                                  Lucas Oliveira 

Art Director                                                                  Meigan Brown

Head of Creative Tech&Innovation                             Evan Greally 

Head of Production                                                     Jessica Bermingham

Production                                                                   Siobhan Coakley

Production                                                                   Caroline Coates

Music Composer                                                         Proud Ngwenya

Web development                                                       Theo Scott van Zyl

Web development                                                       Alexander Bosman

Editor                                                                           Eoin Lennon

Motion Design                                                             Cris Schmidt

Global Head of Reputation & Creative Excellence Ann-Christine Diaz

Senior PR & Communications Manager                    Titus Wouda Kuipers

Local PR                                                                     Susan Nelis

Production

Photographer/Videographer                                       Sam McElwee

Share

LinkedIn iconx

Your Privacy

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Please let us know if you agree to all of these cookies.