If you are walking down a city street and happen to see a mysteriously projected, 72-inch moving image with sound on a random wall – or perhaps your shirt – don’t fret. It’s likely the work of Vancouver-based The Media Merchants’ (TMM) Projection Ninjas and the guerrilla-style teams who wield them.

The stealthy handheld, battery-powered projectors were provided by TMM to Burger King for its Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen promotional campaign, marking the first time the devices have been used for the purposes of advertising. Between June 24th and 29th, teams of three hauled the devices through the streets of Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, projecting moving images onto random objects and giving out Burger King coupons in high-traffic areas. Audio was also incorporated as the guerrilla teams carried speakers in the backpacks they used to house the batteries.

‘Our typical night projection services are portable and temporary, but sometimes we’re limited,’ explains Brodie Gunning, director, national properties and revenue programs and partner at TMM. ‘We can only be on a certain wall, but if [clients] want to be in front of this particular club, or they want to target this particular demographic, but there’s no vehicle access, how do we get there? This medium has allowed us to do that.’

The cost ranges between $1,000 and $1,400 per team of three per night, and TMM has another Projection Ninjas campaign lined up in October for an alcohol client.