The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By John Glenday, Reporter

May 1, 2014 | 2 min read

A Peruvian university is tackling the problem of air quality in construction areas with the development of an air-purifying bollboard which it claims can purify 100,000m3 of air – equivalent to 1,200 trees.

Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) developed technology to remove dust, metal and stone particles kicked up by the construction process to both improve people’s health to a radius of five blocks whilst also advertising its research credentials.

Jessica Rúas, director of promotion at UTEC, said, “This billboard seeks to spark young people’s interest in engineering. It is closely aligned with the university’s mission of educating creative engineers who are sensitive to social needs and have extensive scientific knowledge that enables them to become researchers and find solutions to society’s problems.”

“Furthermore, we want to demonstrate that engineering is behind everything, and what better way to do that than through advertising that changes the world, helps the community and protects the environment?”

Juan Donalisio, creative director at FCB Mayo, the Peruvian agency in charge of making the water producing billboard a reality, said: “Putting our own ingenuity into action gives us great satisfaction, because in addition to the creative challenge it presents, it enables us to raise awareness, inspire and innovate in our work as advertising professionals. UTEC is a client that constantly challenges us, because its approach is not traditional. The university represents change. Therefore, its advertising does as well, and that makes us think about what is nearly impossible to do, in order to do it.”

The billboard works by trapping pollutants in the air which flows through it in water via a continuous low-energy process.