Poverty, pollution, insufficient health system, and a lack of hygiene education are among just a few causes of child mortality in developing countries. Estimates suggest that most of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where thousands of children die from different diseases every day. Most of the time, infections like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria are transmitted via dirty hands.
In an effort to stop this epidemy from spreading amongst kids coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, ANGFA, a Japanese health business, joined hands with McCann Health and together embarked on a long journey in which the main goal is to underline the huge importance of washing hands. To show that clean hands are the children’s ticket to a better, healthier future, the two partners developed an interactive manual called “Washable Book”. This unusual tool invites children to read an entertaining story while giving them a good lesson about hygiene.
The first-of-its-kind book, as described by the Tokyo-based agency, is a publication ‘written’ in black ink that morphs into a colored story once its pages interact with ANGFA’s germicidal soap, a 100% naturally-derived soap that prevents infectious diseases.
The book’s illustrations feature animals such as frogs, rabbits, monkeys, or birds. For each of them, the agency dedicated two-pages within the publication: while the left page depicts a black-and-white figure, the right one is completely covered by the character’s hand, which is intentionally distorted. Actually, this unequal magnification functions as the ‘Play’ button that, once triggered, activates the whole storyline.
Although the picture book is made using a special printing technology, it doesn’t include any other sophisticated systems as Jeremy Perrott, Global Chief Creative Officer of McCann Health points out. And this can only be a wonderful thing. Instead of encouraging kids to learn using high-tech gadgets, the Washable Book comes as a primitive ‘device’ that requires one simple ingredient to be activated: soap. The book empowers young generations to “learn through an experience and remember because of the simple act of washing a surface to reveal its message. Simply genius,” comments Perrott.
The reusable book is a part of the health and beauty product range called “Save Soap“, which was launched in October last year. The campaign invites consumers to become a part of the good cause, asking them to help children from developing countries overcome this issue by purchasing one of the personal hygiene products. The brand promises that for every soap bought by a Japanese client, another one will be delivered to a kid living in Cambodia.
In this part of the world, handwashing is not part of the culture, so sending a soap alone probably wouldn’t have worked. That’s why, the agency printed 400 Washable Books and delivered them to children from Cambodia, who got to see the characters blooming in front of their cleaned hands.
“The Washable book is not just a book…it is a learning experience – an interactive storybook that incorporates the physical act of handwashing into the story itself…to ensure that the connection between cause and effect is crystal clear,” says McCann Health’s Executive Creative Director, Japan & North Asia, Sean Riley.
The kids who ‘read’ the story to the end get a chance to meet a character that they know already. But who might that be? Anxious to see what kind of surprise awaited them? Then the video below represents the perfect invitation for you to join the kids on their wonderful adventure towards a healthier life.