2022 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Children these days are not as active as they were in previous generations. In fact, 80% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 aren’t physically active enough, according to the World Health Organization. The omnipresence and unstoppable rise of mobile devices, computers and gaming consoles have made kids spend more time inside, resulting in major health problems such as obesity and diabetes. The pandemic made the scenario even worse. With the on-going risks of contracting the virus, kids were stimulated to stay home, closed inside, and away from others. Knowing that parents were also worried and eager for new ways to engage with their kids, OMO wanted to invite them to rediscover the great outdoors through a new lens.

Describe the strategy

Kids spend a lot of time indoors these days. Far more than is recommended. And far more than their parents used to when they were kids themselves. Then the pandemic forced everyone to stay inside. Now, parents shouldn’t even encourage their kids to go outside. OMO needed to change the perspective. And how can you help convince parents that outside is still better than in? By making the experience unmistakably educational. Take the letter E for example. In our book, we explain it: “E is for energy. Nature gives us all energy. The moment your foot hits the ground, there is an electricity that runs through our bodies. It’s called FUN!” OMO was teaching them that cool things happen outside, that movement is healthy, and showing them that, in the end, “dirt is good”.

Describe the execution

To make the Playfont a reality, OMO developed an algorithm to scan over 5,000 images of children playing freely and naturally, identifying the pictures’ contours, and linking them to each character. After all the characters were designed, OMO put them together in a free educational e-book that described what each letter meant in terms of play, movement and enjoying the outdoors. In each letter, a different story. OMO made the book to launch this font and get it in the hands of as many parents as possible - and get kids to start playing outside again, the way they always should.

List the results

The biggest result? Lots of happy playful children and tons of bonding time over the book for parents and children. The book was downloaded over 6,400 times! if each family read the book and picked at least one game to play - that is more than 38,000 hours of extra play! The reviews on the website were heartwarming: “It’s sooo hard to think of new stuff to do with kids. Thanks to OMO, we just have to say: Yalla let’s do the play font to get them off the screen and moving!” “😂😂😂 Z is for Sleep is my favorite! Whoever wrote this just gets what being a parent is!” “This font is like a Rorschach test but instead of finding out if you are crazy, you find out what you should play! hilarious!” “so much fun with the kids. Let’s go! Show me your moves habibi!”