Trying to spice up a radio spot is not always an easy feat, given the medium’s inherently restrictive nature. But when MacLaren McCann was tasked with developing a radio campaign for a Vancouver space centre it decided to get real. And we mean real.

New spots for the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre feature actual sounds from space, recorded by NASA.

“[The space centre’s] mission is to open people’s minds to the idea of space and what’s out there, so it seemed like a really interesting way to stand out on the radio,” says Hagan Ainsworth, SVP/CD and general manager, MacLaren McCann Vancouver, adding it gives listeners a preview of the “mind-opening experience” the centre offers.

With a tagline of “Like Nothing on Earth,” the new campaign also features TSAs and OOH which showcases three planets. Ainsworth notes that similar to the radio spots, they offer a “conceptual taste” of what space centre-goers can expect from their visit. The art also draws upon NASA data, with some creative wiggle room.

Awareness will always be a challenge for the space centre, which is somewhat isolated in its location and “a little bit off the beaten path,” he says.

And while the non-profit has been around for decades, more and more entertainment options have become available, Ainsworth explains. “There’s all sorts of different attractions and all the attractions are competing for not just tourists, but locals.”

As such, the campaign targets both these groups, and similar to most attractions, it’s a fairly broad range of people, he says, adding it skews male and older than might be assumed. Although there are activities for kids, families are not the main target.

MacLaren McCann has been working with the space centre for about a year now, around the time when the centre upgraded its projection system. To date, the agency has perpetrated a UFO hoax for the client, flying a drone above a baseball game. A video of the event garnered 2 million YouTube views, and the space centre has seen a a 50% lift in attendance since its tech upgrade and work with the agency, says Ainsworth.