The Jurassic Park Legacy
Based on the 1990 novel by Michael Crichton, the science-fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993, became the highest-grossing film ever at the time.
The story takes place on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, located off Central America‘s Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of cloned dinosaurs.
The film won more than twenty awards, including three Academy Awards for its technical achievements in visual effects and sound design. Jurassic Park is considered a landmark in the development of computer-generated imagery and animatronic visual effects.
T-Rex, The Iconic Dinosaur
One of the lasting legacies of Jurassic Park is the extensive recognition by young and old alike of the name ‘T-Rex’. It was inevitable that as a result of the heightened public interest in the iconic dinosaur, it would make an entertaining appearance in commercials.
1. Jeep Wrangler, T-Rex Chase
Advertising Agency: DDB, Chicago, USA
One of the classic scenes in the Jurassic Park movie was a T-Rex chasing a Jeep. It required two months of planning before a successful filmic execution was achieved.
The latest Jeep Wrangler commercial starring Jeff Goldblum and directed by Colin Trevorrow, is a dramatic reprise of that epic scene with a rewarding twist in the tale.
2. Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut, Dinosaur
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, London
Directed by Rocky Morton, this entertaining parody of a Jurassic inspired scene was a hit for TV and cinema viewing audiences.
3. Samsung Smart TV, King of TV City
Advertising Agency: CHI & Partners, London
Directed by Adam Berg and filmed in Cape Town, the commercial features many dramatic scenes that include UFO’s and a close encounter with a T-Rex. The special effects are very impressive and make for rewarding viewing.
4. Audi, The Comeback
Advertising Agency: Razorfish, Berlin
A Tyrannosaurus Rex is the surprising focus of this touching, metaphoric narrative for Audi Piloted Driving. The commercial, directed by Stephan Wever, was made for the web and loved by many for telling a story instead of just showing a car.
The finding of joy after the depressingly long humiliation the T-Rex had to endure because of his short arms was an online hit and rapidly went viral.
The Social Legacy
The most important legacy of Jurassic Park however, was the incredible impact the movie would, and still has, on the development of ancient DNA research. Interest in evolutionary science has taken center stage and sparked an ongoing debate about the factual science of de-extiction and resurrurection genetic engineering versus fictional science.
The Jurassic World Exhibition
This travelling exhibition is a unique, immersive experience that enables visitors a life-like view of the most fearsome and amazing creatures to have ever roamed the earth. It is infused with interactive educational elements drawn from the real-world science of dinosaur DNA.
The animatronic dinosaurs that have enthralled old and young exhibition visitors were designed by Creature Technology. At the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia visitors averaged 14,000 per week and at the Melbourne Museum, the exhibition drew more than 400,000 visitors in six months.
5. The Jurassic World Exhibition’s Chicago Arrival
The exhibition was housed in a giant tent at one of the world’s premier natural history institutions, The Field Museum in Chicago.
6. The Jurassic World Exhibition, The Field Museum
The museum is renound for its superb dinosaur collections which includes the world’s largest, best-preserved, and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex known as Sue.