Power of Public

public.universityofcalifornia.edu

The Power of Public campaign showcased UC’s extraordinary role in Californians’ daily lives and reinforced the idea that, as a public institution, UC exists to serve the people of California.

The campaign highlighted all the unexpected—and delightful—ways UC touches the lives of people in the state and it also flipped the connotation of "public" to show UC as a repository for California’s collective excellence. By taking well-known phrases that include the word "public"—for example, public transit, public debate, public records and public office – the campaign created a twist on the understood meaning by pairing the phrase visually with an unexpected, bold image.

Bus shelter with poster of a professor and students looking at fossils with the words Public Record
Poster of an underwater diver and school of fish with the words Public School on a BART platform Poster inside bus shelter of a robotic exoskeleton and the words Public Transit
Digital screen in airport showing scientific diagrams on chalkboard and the words Public Figures Bus shelter with poster of a person standing in front of a indoor mural and the words Public Works

Digital

The campaign was brought to life through a multi-faceted approach that included an interactive microsite and social strategies, all of which funneled users to our site, universityofcalifornia.edu, where dozens of in-depth stories behind the ads were featured. The subsequent October-November buy drove users directly to the campaign microsite, public.universityofcalifornia.edu.

Laptop showing the landing page of the Public campaign websiteLaptop showing a tool on the website to build a collage out of produce
Mobile phone showing a view of the campaign website Close up of a collage of a bear made up of raisins An iPad showing the campaign website

Awards

UCDA 2015: Website – Silver