BBDO and GE are making the impossible possible with their new campaign. With everything from unringing a bell to fighting fire with fire, GE engineers show that they can do anything they set their minds to.
Last week, GE premiered the latest installation of its “Unimpossible Missions” series, which seeks to demonstrate how GE is tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges through innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. The film series launched last year, disproving well-known idioms, such as “A snowball’s chance in hell,” thanks to the best in GE technology and science.
Andy Goldberg, GE’s Chief Creative Officer told DIVERGE more about the campaign:
Where did the idea unringing a bell come from?
All the ideas from unimpossible missions start at thinking about famous idioms and disproving them. Unring a bell actually came from a program we ran with college students to submit their idiom along with their solution on how to disprove it.
“Unimpossible Missions”- Can you explain the campaign and why GE chose this theme?
Taking on what is believed to be impossible is in our DNA. Showcasing our science and technology allows us to use different creative means to tell a unique and only GE story.
What kind of response have you gotten from these ads?
The response has been great. The audiences love the different approaches and interesting science we have used to disprove the idioms. They clearly hit a chord with the audience that is fascinated by our technology.
How did virtual reality play a role in these ads?
We developed the new Fighting fire with fire in VR as part of our partnership with the VR series The Possible. We felt if we could bring the viewer directly into the experiment it would create a great experience and complement the other films they would be enjoying from Within.
Why did you decide to use real engineers?
Because they are ones that actually do this work. It is important to showcase the wonderfully amazing talents of the GE employees that developed this technology and worked through the solutions to the unimpossible missions.
How important is diversity to GE?
Innovation is at the core of GE’s DNA, and has been since Thomas Edison founded the company. True innovation requires diverse perspectives and backgrounds. To stay true to its promise to move, power and cure the world, GE has upheld a culture of respect, admiration and collaboration. So it follows that diversity is hugely important to us. We wouldn’t be the company we are today without our culture of innovation, fueled by diverse ideas and strengths.
