Lockheed Martin, the aerospace, security and defense company, is looking for a few good engineers, and it has some of the nation’s top students trying to get inside a box to prove that they’re worthy of working in space.
For Lockheed Martin, space is not a destination, nor a tourist attraction – space is a place to do. It’s an unlimited resource of untapped potential, and the company is developing the technology the world needs to unlock its possibilities. In this campaign, Lockheed Martin is looking for the brightest minds to help it unlock the universe.
To go about finding the rising stars in the world of engineering, McCann NY and Lockheed Martin created the ultimate test: a challenge box. But not just any box. They placed a 14-foot tall, mysterious inky-black monolith that can only be unlocked if someone is able to solve one of the world’s most impossible aerospace equations. In fact, the exact equation was a problem Lockheed Martin engineers had to solve for a real-world satellite mission.
Lockheed Martin is bringing the box to some of the top engineering schools in America, starting with Virginia Tech. A video promoting the highly technical task shows how the VT students approached the challenge. Cameras captured students going into a blacklit room with the massive sci-fi box in the middle. They are seen reading screens with the equation, then working diligently to find the solution. Many failed along the way and walked away only to try again. The students, trying to out-nerd each other (in the best way possible), kept plugging away at the problem until finally, one young man put in the answer that unlocked the box. Inside they were rewarded with a kaleidoscopic view of the universe, as captured by Lockheed Martin.
The winners then heard from an avatar, who told them, “By thinking your way into this box, you’ve proven you have what it takes to work with the world’s greatest engineers,” thus making it a highly complex job interview.
Lockheed Martin will take the box to select engineering campuses and challenge students to see if they have the space skills it takes to unlock the box, and earn themselves the chance for a future at Lockheed Martin, where they can unlock the unknown on a daily basis.
: 'We Do Space'
For Lockheed Martin, space is not a destination, nor a tourist attraction – space is a place to do. It’s an unlimited resource of untapped potential, and the company is developing the technology the world needs to unlock its possibilities. In this campaign, Lockheed Martin is looking for the brightest minds to help it unlock the universe.
To go about finding the rising stars in the world of engineering, McCann NY and Lockheed Martin created the ultimate test: a challenge box. But not just any box. They placed a 14-foot tall, mysterious inky-black monolith that can only be unlocked if someone is able to solve one of the world’s most impossible aerospace equations. In fact, the exact equation was a problem Lockheed Martin engineers had to solve for a real-world satellite mission.
Lockheed Martin is bringing the box to some of the top engineering schools in America, starting with Virginia Tech. A video promoting the highly technical task shows how the VT students approached the challenge. Cameras captured students going into a blacklit room with the massive sci-fi box in the middle. They are seen reading screens with the equation, then working diligently to find the solution. Many failed along the way and walked away only to try again. The students, trying to out-nerd each other (in the best way possible), kept plugging away at the problem until finally, one young man put in the answer that unlocked the box. Inside they were rewarded with a kaleidoscopic view of the universe, as captured by Lockheed Martin. They also have the possibility of working for the company.
Agency: McCann NY
Client: Lockheed Martin
Campaign: We Do Space
McCann NY
Eric Silver - Chief Creative Officer, McCann North America
Sean Bryan - Chief Creative Officer, McCann New York
Tom Murphy - Chief Creative Officer, McCann New York
Mat Bisher - EVP, Executive Creative Director
Dan Donovan - EVP, Executive Creative Director
Josh Grossberg - VP, Group Creative Director
Vince Lim - VP, Creative Director
Jason Ashlock - VP, Creative Director
Dom Bacollo - VP, Creative Director
Dan Colburn – Associate Creative Director
Jesse Yowell – Associate Creative Director
Nathy Aviram - EVP, Chief Production Officer
Christine Lane - SVP, Producer - Innovation
Phoebe Chao – Innovation Producer
Courtney Fallow – Innovation Producer
Eric Perini – Senior Content Producer
Sebastian Savino – Senior Content Producer
Kevin Nelson - EVP, Managing Director
Darla Price - SVP, Executive Account Director
Rik Koletar - VP, Account Director
Ramon Cruz - Account Supervisor
Jen Corbia - Project Manager
Traction Creative
Bryan Roberts - Owner
Lockheed Martin (Client)
Jennifer Whitlow – SVP of Communications
Bill Phelps – VP, External Communications
Jane Walter – Global Marketing Communications Director
Bo Edwards – Advertising and Branding Manager
Matt Kramer – Director of External Communications, Space
Alex Walker – Marketing Communications, Space
