Untappables
Band-Aid®
Issue 48 | September 2018
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer BBDO Worldwide David Lubars Chief Creative Officer BBDO New York Greg Hahn Executive Creative Director Tom Markham Creative Director / Art Director / Designer Carolyn Davis Creative Director/ Copywriter Matthew Page Designer Chris D'Andrea Digital Designer Kimberly Blasnik Production Artist Bo-Yoon Kim Typographer Chris D'Andrea
Production Team
Agency Producer Director of Broadcast Production David Rolfe Senior Content Producer Andrew Osborne Senior Interactive Producer James Young Junior Interactive Producer Katie Penna Production Company BBDO Studios BBDO Studios Lead Michael Gentile BBDO Studios Manager Andre Rowe Jr
Other Credits
Planning Director Kim Ryneska Communications Planner Ali Goldsmith Account Team Cathy Isrealivitz, Alexandra Dobush
Date
April 2018
Background
Unlike the newer bandages, the old Band-Aid® Brand Bandages, hadn’t been developed to work with touch screens, making them far less popular. So the brief was to find a way to make them relevant again. To do this, the task was to get people using them for an entirely different reason.
Idea
Phone addiction was a growing concern amongst all age groups. People checked them habitually, often at the expense of their relationships with family and friends.
Perhaps bandages could help combat this problem. When anyone applied a regular Band-Aid® Brand Bandage to their pointer finger and thumb, it deterred them from using their touchscreens. Done intentionally, it was like wearing a patch to help with nicotine addiction. These traditional-style bandages were re-branded as ‘Untappables’, limited edition packs made available to order at untappables.com.
To get the word out, kits were sent to social media influencers asking them to challenge their followers to wear them. A series of shareable documentary style films were created with short interviews with people discussing compulsive phone use and these were circulated too. For a little digital detox, viewers could either order the limited edition packs or simply use traditional Band-Aid® Brand Bandages.
Results
The Limited Edition packs disappeared within hours. All of the influencers who received Untappables posted photos and stories, explaining how to use them for a digital detox. During launch week there was a lift in positive sentiment toward Band-Aid® and just under 100K impressions were achieved with no media budget. By simply rebranding an existing pack a completely new use was created for a 90 year-old product.
Our Thoughts
Yup, this must seem like a special anti-online, ‘Switch Off to Switch On’ issue of Directory!
We have Google sending top execs a book because they can’t reach them online; we have AT&T asking people not to use their phones when they’re driving; du Communications asking us not to be insensitive and film other people’s misfortunes; and now Band-Aid® suggesting how their product can ruin any device interface.
This is all part of a wider ‘techlash’ with the tech giants being driven reluctantly towards regulation. Funny to think how 20 years ago, the digital revolution was seen as being a force for good. Now we aren’t at all sure.