Lessons from BioDome 2: Know thy client, Pauly Shore was alive in 1996, and more

What happens when you mix scientific research, a billionaire with money to burn, 1990s era hair-dos, an apocalyptic cult, and Pauley Shore?

The answer: a PR nightmare.

BioDome 2 scored international headlines in 1991 when eight scientists were sealed off from the rest of humanity for a two year experiment aimed at proving life in outer space was possible.

Internal strife, worldwide mockery, and even suffocation ensued. But the project’s greatest gift to mankind might have been the 1996 movie Bio-Dome, starring Shore and Stephen Baldwin.

More than 20 years later, the New York Times looks back at the experiment gone awry and uncovers some good PR lessons. Most notably: the importance of vetting your client and their true intentions before you launch a campaign.

Watch the NY Times’ RetroReport here.