Stop-smoking billboard 'coughs' when smokers are near

STOCKHOLM - A pharmacy chain in Sweden has launched a unique advertising campaign aimed at trying to get smokers to quit.

The company, Apotek Hjartat, has set up a video-billboard in Stockholm with an image of a man who starts to cough when a person who is smoking passes nearby. When the man stops coughing, the video screen plays advertisements for smoking cessation aids available at the pharmacy.

The billboard is equipped with sensors that detect the smoke and trigger the ad.

A video posted by the company on YouTube shows reactions from people who see the billboard in action.

This isn't the company's first use of reactive billboards. In 2014, the company installed a billboard for hair-care products in a subway station. The hair of the woman featured in the ad blew uncontrollable each time a train pulled into the platform.