Generally speaking, women find it hard to break the thick walls of the male-dominated industries like tech, science, or engineering. And it’s no wonder why this happens: since we were kids, many of us have been taught that dolls are for girls and LEGOs are for boys. This is one of the many reasons why boys grow up with more technical skills and girls are questioned when they want to take a big step into such sectors before reaching adulthood. That’s why there’s not only a huge pay gap in sports but also a wider gender gap in the technical industries.
But one of the leaders in science, engineering, and manufacturing, GE, wants to close this gap. About a year ago, the company made a commitment to #BalanceTheEquation in STEM roles, both inside its own walls and outside of them. Proving that women are as good as men in engineering is a big goal for the brand. To make people aware of this issue, GE put their heads together with ad agency BBDO New York and projection mapping experts Obscura and mapped out women who have been pioneers in science and engineering.
This week’s #ThrowBrandThursday presents the “Unseen Stars,” an initiative that depicts women in engineering as the stars. The brand “planted” them on the ceiling of New York’s Grand Central station, letting them do their magic and sparkle before the eyes of the commuters.
For three days, the top of the impressive building hosted the faces of women who achieved success in science and engineering sectors. The nine-minute-long video projection honored 12 female scientists whose images were contoured through new star constellations. Besides that, the ceiling was also covered with old constellations based on mythical heroes.
To cover the 275ft long by 120ft wide arched ceiling, the San Francisco-based studio used a lot of high-tech equipment: 32 Christie Digital Boxer 4K30 30,000-lumen projectors for a total of 960,000 lumens. The project included a total of 32 projectors: 16 of them were installed on the balcony on the north side and the other 16 were placed on the south.
Speaking about the project’s biggest challenge, the creative studio said that they first had to figure out how to best honor these women in a “compelling and informative narrative and working with the existing ceiling mural.” And we think they did just that.
The team explains that “Obscura’s media team leveraged the mural, animating and morphing its imagery into “constellations” portraying their faces. The narrative arc was driven by interstitial animations taking viewers on a galactic journey.”
To further support the campaign, the artists created a series of geofilters and Facebook Frames that were available to all passers-by who traveled through Grand Central Station during the Unseen Stars presentation.
Although the campaign cannot be admired at Grand Central Terminal any longer, viewers can pamper their senses with the VR video GE prepared for them. Grab you VR glasses, put them on, and immerse yourself in this wonderful experience, where you get to meet the unseen stars of STEM. And help us spread the word about these wonderful women!