GE launches Unimpossible Mission campaign to highlight its impressive tech

By Lulu Chang February 13, 2016

'A Snowball’s Chance in Hell' - Unimpossible Missions - GE

Ain’t no such thing as impossible. At least, that’s the message GE is sending with its latest campaign, which seeks to spotlight the science that goes into some of its more impressive and ambitious projects. A collaboration between GE and longstanding partner BBDO, the new campaign is named “Unimpossible Missions,” and features three bite-sized but still very compelling videos that both educate and entertain. Each of the three videos is named for a popular saying, including “a snowball’s chance in hell,” “catching lightning in a bottle,” and the less exciting, “talking to a wall.” But seeing these expressions come to life is certainly excitement in and of itself.

The first video, “A Snowball’s Chance in Hell,” follows the GE team as it attempts to construct a vessel that would allow a snowball to maintain its integrity in 2,000-degree temperatures. “Hell” is apparently an industrial foundry in Kazakhstan, where GE pours what certainly looks a lot like molten metal atop the carefully engineered structure. It’s cinematically impressive, translating almost as a well-done documentary, or even (at times), a thriller. And considering the video is only three minutes long, that’s quite a feat.

Other videos include the use of capacitors to capture an electrical surge in, you guessed it, a bottle, and also employing an accelerometer on a portion of the Berlin Wall to both “listen” and transmit a message to children on the other side. Each of the videos ends with the powerful message, “Imagine the other impossible things we can do,” while leaving little to the imagination when it comes to how GE achieves its impressive feats.

“We are always looking for ways to talk about the great work that goes on at GE and marry it with the wonder and awe of science,” Linda Boff, CMO at GE told AdAge. “As a brand, we are constantly thinking about what’s new and next for the world with our technology, and to mirror that it in our marketing and the way we tell our story.”

In an interview with Adweek, GE chief creative officer Andy Goldberg noted that the videos represent “meaningful content that people actually want to read, listen to, watch, and consume,” and are also effective recruitment tools for the next generation of talent.

“Every brand has to find out what their audience wants to see and how they like to engage,” he said. “When you can show a customer who you are with an enjoyable experience, your content becomes more than just marketing.”

Check out more of the videos below:

'Catching Lightning in a Bottle' - Unimpossible Missions - GE

'Like Talking to a Wall' - Unimpossible Missions - GE

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