Ogilvy Promotes Hidden Figures with AR App

The issue of diversity has long been debated in adland. However it seems to span more than just our industry as 20^th Century Fox’s latest film Hidden Figures (released Jan 6) proves, focussing on the little known story of the African-American women behind launching astronaut John Glenn into space.

Inspired by this story, IBM together with the New York Times’ creative agency, T Brand Studio, and Ogilvy & Mather created Outthink Hidden, a campaign that spotlights the important role that women played in the space race and other science, technology, economics and mathematics (STEM) industries throughout the 1960s.

Unveiled at Nevada’s CES tech festival last week, the campaign was launched via an interactive booth activation (below) that featured holograms of the film’s three main characters with their stories narrated to participants through a movement-activated sensor.

The campaign will also roll out social, digital and print components as well as an AR app, available for free on the Apple store or Google Play.

App users can find out more about the eight women who inspired the film and unlock content at specific markers or landmark buildings in the US, such as Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry or California’s Institute of Technology among others, to reveal the untold stories of STEM.

Click on the app’s map to find your nearest location and mix virtual with reality to uncover the often overlooked but inspiring stories about women of the past. To find out more about the campaign and its inspiration, watch IBM’s curated YouTube list (below) which contains more information about STEM’s hidden figures.