2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Kids will believe anything if it’s wrapped up in a beautiful story. So through our illustrated storybook and a breakthrough interactive mobile app, we convinced them that they had a fish living in their tummy that they needed to care for by drinking water every day. Using the mobile phone’s camera we were able to place the Tummyfish magically in kids bellies. This technique allowed us to bridge the real world with the virtual one and maintain the illusion of Tummyfish’s existence. The kids then had to care for their new friend. Tummyfish’s behaviour mirrored the children’s drinking habits, using data input from the parents each day. Drinking water kept their Tummyfish happy and healthy whilst sugary drinks make her sad and unresponsive. Kids who improved their drinking habits watched their friend grow and were rewarded with mini-games, while parents were able to monitor consumption and track behaviour change.

Creative Execution

First we went through an extensive and comprehensive design process to produce a beautifully illustrated children’s book and digital mobile app. The book took kids on a journey, showing how a young fish in the ocean landed up as a Tummyfish. We distributed the book in schools and bookstores in countries right across the Middle East. The book then led families to download the interactive mobile app where the story continues in the uniquely designed digital world where kids get their very own Tummyfish. Kids who improved their drinking habits watched their friend grow and play and were rewarded with mini-games within the app that they could unlock, while parents were able to monitor consumption and track behavior change. Once Tummyfish had been introduced and proved successful in the Middle East, we broadened our scope, by introducing it to a wider range of countries outside the region.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Kids have responded extremely well to the story and design. Tummyfish is making a big splash and is currently living in over 500,000 tummies in 11 countries around the world. Kids who use the innovative mobile app have demonstrated a positive behavior change with a 79% increase in water consumption, adding up to over 1.5 million rewards unlocked so far. Tummyfish was picked up by the Dubai Health Authority who featured the campaign at the Dubai Innovation Week and voted it as the number one health and wellness app of 2016. The campaign has been so effective that the Dubai government has also endorsed it, making it part of the National Schools Curriculum as a teaching tool across the emirate. This is just the beginning as Tummyfish is now being adapted to other languages and being rolled out globally in order to help even more children live healthier lives.

Young kids can be convinced that something exists if it’s wrapped up in an entertaining story and beautiful imagery. So we targeted kids between the ages of 4 to 12 with a colorful illustrated storybook, distributed in schools and bookstores that tells the tale of a Tummyfish and how they could get their own one. The book leads parents to our mobile app where the story continues, allowing kids to meet their very own Tummyfish. By creating a connection between kids and their Tummyfish, which we achieved through a range of positive and negative reactions directly related to children's drink choices, we managed to teach kids healthier habits and drinking choices as they cared for their friend.