WHY SHOULD THE SAINTS GET ALL THE GOOD WINDOWS?

CrossCountry brings a centuries-old art form to an Edinburgh wall, with a little modern-day magic thrown in.

Stained-glass windows have been telling stories for centuries. Now CrossCountry has given the art form a modern twist, turning an ordinary wall in the heart of Edinburgh into a giant stained-glass window. Without a single piece of glass.

Created by McCANN in Birmingham and Global Street Art, the mural on Lothian Street celebrates the journeys that bring people together. At its heart are two old friends reunited in Edinburgh, surrounded by colourful scenes of their travels, adventures and memories made along the CrossCountry network.

But there’s more to this window than meets the eye.

By day, it’s a beautiful piece of public art. By night, it takes on a whole new life. Using projection mapping, the painted windows appear to glow from within, spilling colour onto the street below, just as real stained glass would.

The installation, titled Here, There & Together, is the latest creative execution in CrossCountry‘s Take Us on Your Journey brand platform, following previous large-scale murals in Manchester and Leeds.

Adam Bodfish, Executive Creative Director at McCANN Birmingham, said: “Stained glass has been telling stories for hundreds of years, so we thought we’d borrow the idea and give it a new twist. There’s just something fun about creating a giant stained-glass window that isn’t actually a window. And then making it light up at night. Hopefully it brings a few smiles to the people of Edinburgh.”

David Mullins, head of brand, communications and digital strategy at CrossCountry, added: “Every journey has a story behind it. The people we’re going to see, the places we’ve been and the memories we make along the way. We wanted to celebrate those connections in a way that would surprise people and bring a little colour to the city. And I think we’ve certainly managed that.”

The Edinburgh installation is CrossCountry’s third large-scale mural in 12 months, continuing the brand’s ambition to bring the stories behind rail travel to life in unexpected places.

Source: McCANN in Birmingham

  CrossCountry, Edinburgh, Global Street Art, Marketing, McCann, McCann Birmingham, OOH, UK