In the build up to the release of Warner Bros new film “Contagion“, directed by Academy Award ® winner Steven Soderbergh, they teamed up with Mark Biernacki and Steph Mackie of Lowe Roche advertising agency along with a team of microbiologists and immunologists from around the world to create a truly amazing one-of-a-kind bacteria message board.

Using the films theme which sees the spread of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days, Biernacki and Mackie contacted U.K. based CURB Media who helped them make their vision a reality.  Tests went ahead to find the best kind of bacteria to grow into the shape of letters which would be used to spell out the films name.  When the correct bacteria was found they then created what essentially were huge petri dishes and began to hand stencil the words onto the ‘dish’.

Once complete the team installed the ‘live’ billboards behind a storefront window in an abandoned building on 409 Queen Street West, Toronto.  Showing nothing but gel, all that could be done is wait for the bacteria to grow to reveal the hidden message.

Check out to see what happend with what we think is an amazing piece of marketing as well as art in the video below:

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