IBM Research builds The Play Machine to share the joy of science.

For three weeks, this live-streamed art installation built with low-tech parts and powered by social data proved how IBM engineers actually work: they play.

IBM RESEARCH
”Innovation Through Play!”
The Play Machine

AGENCY
Ogilvy

ROLE
Concept/Creative Direction/Copywriting

MEDIA
Activation/Social/Digital/Experiential/Film

AWARDS
Cannes Lion • Webby

VIDEO: Watch IBM innovation at play

Science starts out fun.
But then it gets serious, formulaic, sterile.

What if we taught science the way top scientists see it?

As...

Our brains are wired to play.

It was an untold secret of IBM’s R&D labs—that many of their best inventions from LASIK eye surgery to Watson came through play.

WARNING: Mad Scientist At Play!

John is an IBM Fellow, reality TV star, and Internet of Things guru. John made it to the top of his field by maintaining his playful spirit, and he put it on full display.

VIDEO: Mad scientist at play. Proceed with caution.

With John's help, we took the joy of science out of the IBM lab, and onto Tumblr and the streets of New York City, in an art and computer science experiment.

IBM presents The Play Machine

A playfully built contraption that turned social media clicks into real-time physical actions. Live on Tumblr.

Social engagement on IBM's innovation culture blog, IBMblr, brought the low-tech components to life:

Like to Pop
and send a popcorn kernel
tumbling to the heat gun.

Reblog to WHACK
and watch the machine
destroy itself.

Share to SPIN
and see your location on a laser-mounted globe and LED fan display.

Follow to PRINT
and inscribe your Tumblr I.D.

Surveillance Monitors
displayed live data, science GIFs and extreme
close-ups of the action.

Three weeks of surprising science
GIFs fueled the fun.

We took the wisdom, experiments and side projects of IBM Researchers and redesigned them to be shared. See the gallery →

The PLAY Experiments | No. 2 In the workplace or the research lab, adding a little play to the mix often yields surprising results. The same can be said inside this Erlenmeyer flask. Here we have some ordinary dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and food c…

The PLAY Experiments | No. 2
In the workplace or the research lab, adding a little play to the mix often yields surprising results. The same can be said inside this Erlenmeyer flask. Here we have some ordinary dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and food coloring. But add a touch of potassium iodine, and a dash of play, and presto — Elephant toothpaste. Time to brush!

INSIDE THE INVENTIVE MIND
Matt Ganis
IBM Social Media Analytics
Olympian Internet Firewall Creator

“I think we learn as we play – the silly experiments we come up with today could be at the core of very serious solutions we develop tomorrow.”

**The more likes, shares, follows & reblogs, the more the Play Machine popped, twirled, printed & whacked.**

A live webcast took
the joy of science global.

From a storefront in
NYC's Lower East Side
to the world.

"It is not every day I get to geek out this hard." @Itisfuninthesun

"Honestly, this is what tweeting and sharing is for." @BKare

"IBM is showing us how they embody innovation & invention instead of just telling us." @philippetwits

Play Machine overhead.png

17+ million Tumblr impressions

3X engagement benchmarks for brands

⇧ 100% increase in IBMblr followers

By sharing IBM Research's playful side, a new generation reimagined what science can be.

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