How TRON: Ares Took Over Piccadilly Circus
- Dom Ho
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
The team at BLACKLIST discuss their latest partnership with Disney Studios UK, blurring the line between screen and street, turning London’s most iconic advertising space into an immersive extension of the TRON universe
Last week Piccadilly Circus looked a little different. To launch TRON: Ares, Disney Studios UK transformed the famous London landmark into a large-scale digital spectacle. Rooftops, screens and surrounding spaces all became part of the world of the film. BLACKLIST partnered with Disney to help deliver several of the key creative and technical moments that shaped the takeover.
Inside The Venue, just off Piccadilly, we used projection mapping to turn one of the rooms into an infinite version of the grid. The wall and floor were covered in a seamless projection filled with glitches, shifting energy lines and animated logos. Built as a way to make people feel like they’d stepped into another environment, the space creating the sense that the grid had spread beyond the screen and into our world - much like the film itself!
On the Piccadilly Lights, we produced a bespoke anamorphic Lightcycle sequence. The animation played with depth and perspective so that, from the square, it appeared to break away from the surface. The sequence was triggered live by Jared Leto from the rooftop, marking the start of the takeover in front of a busy evening crowd.
Another part of the project involved working with Coca-Cola, Samsung, Ducati and IMAX to adapt their existing creative to sit inside the grid. Logos, colours and transitions were reworked so that the brands felt like they were part of the world, rather than sitting around it. Each takeover was carefully timed so the handover between brand creative and film content felt natural, giving the impression of a digital incursion playing out across the screen.
The impact of the event was immediate. The rooftop moment, the animation, and the branded takeovers were widely covered by the press and shared rapidly across social media. For a few hours, Piccadilly became part of the cultural conversation around the film’s release.
So why does this approach work?
We’ve worked with Disney on anamorphic screen campaigns before, including major titles like Star Wars. These campaigns are always attention-grabbing, and the scale of Piccadilly Lights guarantees reach. But what made this project stand out was pairing the screen spectacle with an immersive experience that extended the story into physical space.
The screen moment hooks people instantly. It draws eyes, gets filmed, and travels fast online. But immersive spaces give campaigns a second life. They turn a big reveal into something people can step inside, photograph, talk about and share in their own way. That combination builds momentum.
By connecting these elements, campaigns can work on multiple levels at once. There’s the immediate hit from the reveal, which drives coverage and social traction. And then there’s the slower burn, as audiences keep sharing and talking about what they’ve experienced in the lead-up to release day.
For us, the exciting part of this project was working across both sides at once: helping shape the visual spectacle on the screen, while also building the environment that supported it. It’s this blend of creativity, technology and physical space that allows a campaign to move beyond a single moment and become something people keep talking about.
