Field Trip to Mars

To articulate the concept that the first person who will visit Mars is currently a student—and that Lockheed Martin is creating the technology that will take that person to Mars—we transformed a classic school bus into an immersive, moving field trip where passengers can see, hear, and feel what the surface of Mars is like. The students experienced this shared journey without the need for headsets or goggles.

Our first riders, D.C.-area students, thought they were going on a normal field trip. As the windows transformed to reveal the Martian landscape, we surprised them with a field trip unlike any other.

Results:

The day after launch, the bus became a trending topic on Facebook for over 24 hours, and social conversation spread to more than 50 countries. News outlets such as NBC, ABC, and Fox covered the story, along with leading technology and innovation sites like Engadget, PSFK, Futurism, and Digital Trends.

In the week following its debut, Lockheed Martin saw a 3,000% increase in conversation around Mars and 260% more mentions than SpaceX. Videos featuring Field Trip to Mars have been viewed over 6 million times.

Field Trip to Mars was the single most awarded campaign at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, earning 19 Lions across 11 categories. It was also nominated for a Titanium Lion, among only 22 out of 43,101 entries from around the world.

The project also won top honors at ADWEEK’s Project Isaac, 7 Clios (including a Grand Clio), 3 IAB MIXX Awards, 1 D&AD Impact Pencil, and 19 LIAs (including 2 Grand LIAs).