21GRAMS
Legend says this is the weight of a soul.
The year was 1907.
A respected doctor, named Duncan MacDougall, wanted to see if he could scientifically prove the existence of a soul. His results – published in a medical journal and publicized in the NY Times – showed that when life left the human body, it experienced a sudden, unaccounted-for loss of mass: 21 grams.
The measurement would become a curious mix of science and folklore: the weight of the human spirit, symbolized by the dodecahedron, which is associated with the fifth element in Plato’s philosophy.
And the fitting name of an agency hell-bent on bringing the soul back to healthcare advertising.
We focus on the 21 grams that makes people tick. The “something” inside that motivates and inspires people to act. You won’t find it on an x-ray, or even a DNA test. But that 21 grams is there: behind every intention, every decision, every emotion.
