It's 'Raining Octopuses' in GE's New Ad

Spot Shows How Company Is Prepared for Bizarre Disruptions

Published On
May 11, 2016

Editor's Pick

In a new G.E. ad that breaks today, an octopus storm threatens to disrupt the nation's power grid, airplanes, hospitals and other crucial systems.

The message is, "Whatever the world is going to throw at us, GE is prepared and can handle it," said Andy Goldberg, chief creative officer at GE.

The 60-second spot, called "Raining Octopuses," was created by BBDO New York and directed by Christopher Riggert out of Biscuit Filmworks.

The spot opens with a storm brewing, then octopuses start falling out of the sky and splat on a wedding, a playground, a fishing boat, a plane attempting to land, a hospital and city traffic.

As a weather announcer says, "I've heard of it raining cats and dogs, but this is ridiculous," GE engineers work to reroute power and get systems back up and running. The spot ends with a voiceover saying, "We're ready for whatever you've got, world," as an alligator comes crashing through a glass window.

"This idea is that tomorrow, if you wake up and it's raining octopuses, the power grid will operate, planes will land on time and hospitals will operate because GE has the right software and has built these systems to operate and make the world work better," Mr. Goldberg said.

Ths spot is running online, with a paid placement on social news site NowThis News, and on GE's social channels including Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat.

As GE continues to target younger, tech-savvy, digital audiences, it was looking for a new way to tell its story, Mr. Goldberg said.

"BBDO had this idea that was really fun and different," he said. "We wanted to treat this a little differently from our 'Ideas Are Scary' campaign, which was more philosophical in nature, and touch on more of the technical aspects of what GE does, with the power grid, etc.

"The idea was that it would be raining something so unique and different, but it had to rain something really bizarre, and it had to disrupt."

GE is also experimenting with some new social channels with this campaign, including video site Hyper, which it has not used before.

"As the media landscape keeps changing, we have to keep changing sites," Mr. Goldberg said. "We are looking at new distribution sites and new channels that might have the right content and might attract younger audiences that might not be aware of GE, are learning about GE and are understanding what GE is about."

The original version of this article appeared on Adage.com.

Credits

Date
May 11, 2016
Brand :
GE
Client :
GE
Agency :
BBDO-New York
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer :
David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer :
Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director :
Michael Aimette
Creative Director :
Judd Counsell
Executive Producer :
George Sholley
Creative Director :
Anne Lac
Director, Music Production :
Rani Vaz
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Senior Director :
Brandon Fowler
Account Director :
Anna Mills
Account Manager :
Marissa Amendolia
Group Planning Director :
Tom Naughton
Senior Communications Planner :
Rhys Hillman
Production Company :
Biscuit Filmworks
Managing Director :
Shawn Lacy (Biscuit Filmworks)
Executive Producer :
Rick Jarjoura
Head of Production :
Mercedes Allen-Sarria
Head of Production :
Rachel Glaub
Producer :
Jimena Murray
Director :
Christopher Riggert
Music Company :
RMI / Screen Sound Alliance
Composer :
Robert Miller
Editorial Company :
Work Editorial NY
Editor :
Stewart Reeves
Assistant Editor :
Abbey Chaus
Executive Producer :
Erica Thompson
Senior Producer :
Sari Resnick
Visual Effects :
Method Studios
Executive Producer :
Stephanie Gilgar
Executive Producer :
Stuart Robinson
Producer :
Scott Boyajan
Visual Effects Supervisor :
Benjamin Walsh
Visual Effects Supervisor :
Doug Luka
CG Supervisor :
Margaret Bright-Ryan
CG Supervisor :
Ivan Guerrero
Animator Supervisor :
Keith Roberts
Digital Effects Supervisor :
Sandro Blattner
2D Lead :
Ian Holland
Nuke Lead :
Chris Bankoff
Modeling Supervisor :
Lersak Bunuparadah
Rigging Supervisor :
Simon Yuen
Effects Supervisor :
Dan Bodenstein
Sound Design :
Brian Emrich at Trinitite Studios
Sound/Mix :
Sonic Union
Mixer :
Michael Marinelli
Color :
Company 3
Colorist :
Stefan Sonnenfeld
Executive Producer :
Rhubie Jovanov
Producer :
Adam Van Wagoner

Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors

Project Type