Jonathan Hoffman/Leo Burnett/Exec Dir. The communication goal was simple: take genetics out of the laboratories and the newspapers and invite people to experience it. Affect them in a personal way and generate some “buzz” about the exhibit. The idea was to let people experience genetics – LIVE – through people-boards. A provocative question – Why am I bald? – was matched with a model of like physical trait and then the model would interact with people on the streets of Chicago.

We targeted high traffic areas in the city of Chicago with 8-10 models in each spot. We focused our activity on Thursday and Friday to generate talk value just as people were making their weekend plans. We hit train stations, shopping areas, professional sports arenas and even bars. The models would converge on an area and hand-out informational flyers about the exhibit. Strategically, the Brand Team came up with the notion of “Genetics Live” as a way to differentiate and make the Genetics Exhibit relevant to people. The original idea was conceived as a print ad and during a team brainstorm about where to place the print, the Media Team came up with the idea of bringing the print to life through real people. At that point a new medium was created…people-boards. To date developments in genetics have always been something you read about, not something you experience. Most people read about Dolly the cloned sheep, heard about the human genome project, or perhaps stumbled on some BBC special on stem cell research. While news reports on genetics always seem important, these developments are always distant. Genetics has always been something that happens in a lab somewhere. Without the proper launch, the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry exhibit: Genetics Decoding Life, would be presumed to be akin to a newspaper article you walk through…which wouldn’t motivate anyone to go see it.However through the “Genetics Live” people-boards, genetics was brought to life through breathing, provocative first-hand encounters. It is one thing to read about genetics, but quite another to see a busty woman with a t-shirt asking: “Why Are My Breasts So Big?” The answer: find out why at the Museum of Science and Industry.People didn’t just gawk at these provocative messages, they responded by heading to the Museum in droves. This “live” media stunt helped the Museum have one of their most successful exhibits ever. And yet these “people boards” were a fraction of the cost of traditional outdoor boards.

Strategically, the Brand Team came up with the notion of “Genetics Live” as a way to differentiate and make the Genetics Exhibit relevant to people. The original idea was conceived as a print ad and during a team brainstorm about where to place the print, the Media Team came up with the idea of bringing the print to life through real people. At that point a new medium was created…people-boards.