They are bog standard 2D flat panels with 3d scenes on them to anyone wondering how they can possibly work.

The billboard ads on buildings shown in the article are also 2d. They look really bad in person unless you close one eye and watch exactly at the intended perspective (or instagram it with a misleading “omg wow new 3d billboards” caption as many do).

To be fair, the companies that install these often choose locations where large amounts of people are exiting or encountering the billboard at the intended angle.

The trick also works much better if it's a surprise (your brain doesn't have time to overanalyze) and in a position that is at a sharp angle.

So, exiting a train station, for example.

The animators and designers also perform a lot of tricks (such as parallax tricks and cinematic framing) to really sell it. For example https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-YKfFEL1vjg