Listerine’s Advance White mouthwash is a product very much tied to the smile, with people using the product to keep their teeth white and their smile looking its best. So it would only make sense that JWT London would highlight the smile in its campaign to launch the product. But the agency found an unexpected angle to take for the product, while doing some good in the process:helping blind people determine when others are smiling at them.
The agency developed an app which uses facial recognition technology and a smart phone’s camera to determine when someone is smiling, and then vibrates to let the blind or visually-impaired user know that they’ve been smiled at. Directed by Lucy Walker, “Feel Every Smile,” the online spot showcasing the app, brings its importance into focus. Beginning by interviewing four blind participants about what smiles mean to them and what it’s like to live without seeing the smiles of their loved ones sets the tone for when the app is introduced, which makes it all the more moving seeing the participants’ emotional responses to the app.
“When creating this app, we wanted to make something that could help those that might miss some smiles, to once again be able to feel the power of every smile,” creative director John Cherry told LBB. “Obviously we captured people’s first use of the app and it turned out to be a genuinely powerful and emotional film.”
Credits:
CREATIVE AGENCY: J. Walter Thompson London
PROJECT MANAGER: Joseph Bassary
PLANNER: Thomas Scovell, Julie Roberts
GLOBAL DIRECTOR IN CHARGE: Rafael Freitas, Matthew Cunnell (Board AD’s)
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Russell Ramsey
DIGITAL PRODUCER: Julian Poole
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: John Cherry
CREATIVE: Will Helm, Will Brookwell
TV PRODUCER: Spru Rowland
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Lizzie Alleyne
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pulse Films
DIRECTOR: Lucy Walker
MEDIA AGENCY: MEC
PLANNER: Charles Peyron
MUSIC SUPERVISION: John Connon
MUSIC PRODUCTION: Wake The Town
COMPOSER: Ben McAvoy
SOUND DESIGN: Wake the Town
EDIT COMPANY: GPS