We’ve all been there—squinting at blurry squares, wondering if that fuzzy corner really counts as part of a bicycle, just to prove we’re not a robot. These dreaded captchas have become a universal frustration, making us question not just our eyesight, but sometimes our very humanity.
That shared irritation is exactly what World, the privacy-first digital identity platform, tapped into with “Real World Captchas”—a brilliantly simple campaign conceived by Iris Worldwide that brought the worst of the internet into the real world.
In cities like Singapore, Berlin, and Buenos Aires, pedestrians were surprised to find giant signs resembling digital captcha grids installed in front of everyday objects—crosswalks, hydrants, traffic lights. The familiar instruction loomed: “Click on all squares containing a bicycle.” But this time, the bike wasn’t on a screen. It was parked right there, in real life.
This absurd but relatable setup hit a nerve. The effect was immediate and unmistakable: confusion, recognition, and laughter. By highlighting just how ridiculous online verification has become, World cleverly reminded us that maybe—just maybe—it’s time for a smarter approach.
That alternative, according to World, is World ID: a secure and anonymous way to prove you’re human in an age of increasingly intelligent machines. No traffic lights. No fuzzy buses. Just a frictionless, privacy-respecting solution designed for the future.
It’s a timely idea. In 2025, digital fatigue is real. We’re bombarded with pop-ups, forced to tick endless boxes, and stuck jumping through hoops to do even the simplest online tasks. With artificial intelligence automating more of the web every day, how we confirm our humanity matters more than ever.
John Patroulis, Chief Marketing Officer at Tools for Humanity—the company behind World—put it simply:
“Proving you’re human is more important than ever, but the ways we’re doing it are increasingly ineffective and frustrating.”
Instead of shouting about a solution, this campaign shows the problem in a way people can’t ignore. It takes something we’ve accepted as a necessary evil online and drops it, absurdly and hilariously, into the physical world. And just like that, it becomes impossible to overlook.
Menno Kluin, Chief Creative Officer at Iris Worldwide, explained the concept best:
“We took something people ignore online and made it impossible to ignore in the street. It’s a simple, disruptive way to say: there’s a better way.”
And that’s the brilliance of “Real World Captchas.” It doesn’t need flashy tech or complex language. It makes its point with humor, clarity, and a shared sense of digital exhaustion. The result? A campaign that not only captures attention—it gives it back to the user.
