The MSSNG Project
Autism Speaks
Issue 35 | June 2015
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide David Lubars Chief Creative Officer, New York Greg Hahn Executive Creative Director Matt MacDonald ACD/Art Director/Copywriter Siavosh Zabeti Art Director/Copywriter Bianca Guimaraes Biochemist/Photographer Linden Gledhill Senior Creative Technologist Sermad Buni
Production Team
Director of Integrated Production David Rolfe Director of Digital Operations Clemens Brandt Associate Director of Interactive Production Joe Croson Executive Producer Howard Howell Interactive Producer Courtney Fallow Director of Tactile Production and Creative Engineering JD Michaels Associate Creative Engineer Casey Adams Executive Art Producer Betsy Jablow Director of Music Rani Vaz Digital Production Company Media Monks Film Production Company BBDO Film Producer Koji Yahagi Film Directors Koji Yahagi Bianca Guimaraes Siavosh Zabeti Director of Photography John McCabe Editorial House Cut and Run Music The Singing Serpent Radio Music House Human Radio Producer Courtney Fallow Executive Music Producer Melissa Chester Mixer/Audio Engineer Corey Bauman Sound Editor John Cabrera Press Project Producer Donna Mendieta VP, Associate Director of Press Desiree Principe Global Account Director Mark Mulhern Account Director Phil Brolly Account Manager Catherine Wright Account Executives Jen Sullivan Miranda Hardy Engagement Planner Cody Levine Talent Manager Bernadette Naughten Director of Business Affairs Phyllis Greenwald
Date
December 2014
Background
Autism Speaks was getting ready to embark on one of its most ambitious projects ever, the sequencing of the DNA of 10,000 individuals affected by autism. The plan was to make the data available on Google's Cloud for scientists to examine in the quest for answers to the questions raised about the condition.
The problem was money. Autism Speaks did not have enough to pay for the sequencing. The challenge, then, was to create a brand identity, raise awareness and generate funds.
Idea
The idea was to go straight to the source of all the answers that would be forthcoming from the research: DNA itself. The DNA samples provided by people afflicted with autism were transformed into visualisations. Microscopic photographs of DNA molecules crystallising were created by photographer and biologist Linden Gledhill.
These beautiful images brought art to a very scientific effort. 10,000 unique posters were made available for sale, each helping to fund one of the 10,000 sequences needed. A coffee table book told the stories of the people affected by the disorder and an art exhibition made up entirely of images of DNA was held to raise money. As part of the integrated campaign, visitors to the website could control an interactive microscope.
Results
Art brought science closer to new audiences of potential donors, putting MSSNG on the map not just with doctors and scientists but with the world.
In the early stages of the campaign, 2,675 genomes were sequenced and 853 uploaded to the Google Cloud, which led almost immediately to important new findings. Scientists from around the world applied to analyse the data and hospitals and research facilities have joined the effort.
Our Thoughts
We live in a world of paradox. One small drop on a slide beneath the lens of a microscope reveals a vast landscape. As William Blake put it, here we can ‘see the world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour’. And what a paradox it is that the causes of autism should look so beautiful. It’s what makes this campaign so powerful, the contradiction between the vibrant colours of the images and their true and sinister nature.