GE Podcast Theater Presents life.af/ter
GE
Issue 43 | June 2017
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars (BBDO Worldwide), Greg Hahn (BBDO New York) Executive Creative Director: Michael Aimette Senior Creative Director: Daniel Wright/ Levi Slavin Creative Director: Tim Roan/ Daniel Burke/ Josh Parschauer Interactive Art Director: Martin Staaf Senior Designer: Bhanu Arbuaratna Creative Technologist: Filip Williander
Production Team
Agency – Executive Producer: George Sholley Associate Director of Interactive Production: Joe Croson Interactive Producer: Ian Graetzer Production Company Production Company: Panoply Executive Producer: John Dryden Producer: Rachel Wolther Casting: Janet Foster Writer: Mac Rogers Chief Content Officer: Andy Bowers Sound Designer: Steve Bond
Other Credits
Agency Account Team: Kathryn Brown/ Lindsey Cash/ Zandy Fretts/ Liz Jacobs Communications Planning Director: Yin Chung Media/OOH Agency Media Agency: Giant Spoon Co-Founder: Trevor Guthrie Managing Director: Laura Correnti Associate Director, Strategy: Corbin Brown/ Erin Hauswirth Strategist: Michael Tonge
Date
November 2016
Background
GE's revolutionary Digital Twin technology uses artificial intelligence to create virtual clones of machines to predict issues. The task was to make this highly technical program seem relevant and compelling to the average person.
Idea
LifeAfter was created, a 10-episode podcast that explored the potential consequences of sharing so much of our lives online. The thriller imagined what could happen if that information got into the wrong hands – or rather the hands of a sentient computer program that communicates by editing together the voices of people that have died. When that plot becomes a threat to humanity, GE technology is deployed to help protect our virtual and real world lives. A fictional social media site was also created from the podcast, where fans could unlock additional content and explore backstories on the show's characters.
Results
By turning science into science fiction, they got the attention of renowned scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson and enough other sci-fi lovers that it reached 524,350,000 downloaded minutes, making it one of the most downloaded podcasts of the year. It was praised by a number of major media and entertainment publications, calling it one of the best podcasts of the year and announced that it was "reviving a dead art."