News & Media

CCARM’s “Mr. Bean” promo a hit!

Scientists at the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine (CCARM) were looking to attract attention to their display on the potential health benefits of pulse crops when they asked for help from the Communications and Media Services department at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre. The result – a portrait of British actor Rowan Atkinson’s character “Mr. Bean” – attracted so much attention at the Centre that they knew they were on to something. The reason – the portrait was made from thousands of beans!

Dried beans, referred to as legumes or pulse crops, are actually the edible seeds that grow in pods on annual plants, bushes, or vines. They can be eaten fresh, sprouted, dried, and ground into flour. “They are also an interesting medium for portraiture” says Bill Peters, Communications Manager, who along with media technician Rob Blaich was responsible for creating the 20-by-30 inch portrait, as well as a short video that features the portrait. “There were lots of rich colours to work with, but the different sizes were a challenge. And they like to roll off of the canvas.”

CCARM Team Leader Dr. Peter Zahradka made contact with Atkinson’s management company to gain permission to use the Mr. Bean likeness with the tag line Consider the Bean. “They had no problem in giving us approval to work with the likeness of Mr. Bean, and even asked us for permission to add it to their Facebook page” says Zahradka. “We look forward to using this to draw attention to the important research being done at CCARM for the pulse industry”.

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