Accessible toys designed for individuals living with paralysis
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Issue 40 | September 2016
Agency
360i
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Pierre Lipton Group Creative Director: Fabio Seidl Creative Directors: Corel Theuma, James Rogala
Production Team
VP Head of Production: Lucia Grillo Head of Content Production: Sharon Harte Senior Content Producer: Lorraine Schaffer Senior Integrated Producer: Jamie- Leigh Florence
Other Credits
VP Group Account Director: Deborah Korono Account Supervisor: Maiko Kitagawa VP Innovation Technology: Layne Harris Associate Creative Technologist: Alexis Moses Senior Innovation Strategist: Fitz Maro Associate Director of Influencer Marketing: Justin Riviera Senior Social Publicist: Lauren Minella Senior Director, PR & Marketing: Katrina Cabrera Technical Director: Jameson Edwards Front End Development: James Daly Quality Assurance Testing: Paulie Srinuan
Date
April 2016
Background
Nearly 1 in 50 Americans are living with paralysis. While advances in technology have adapted everything from homes to cars so that people with physical disabilities can carry out simple daily activities, one area has been largely overlooked: play.
For the 5.6 million Americans with some form of paralysis, play is difficult, if not impossible.
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation wanted to help people living with paralysis to experience playtime with their families and drive awareness of the need for accessible toys to help fund their manufacture.
Idea
Research showed there were few technological innovations to help disabled people with recreational activities, particularly those that related to adults interacting with young children.
This led to the exploration of technologies such as voice activation, motion sensors or sip-and-puff techniques to see how they could be adapted to toys.
Prototypes were designed and two toys were built: a remote-controlled car and a baseball pitching machine. The remote-control car was powered by a headset equipped with a straw. When users exhaled, they caused the car to accelerate. When they inhaled, it reversed. Their head movements steered the car left or right.
Motion sensors on the headset steered the car left or right based on the user’s
The voice-controlled pitching machine threw a ball on the user’s command, tossing pop-ups, groundballs and strikes.
The former football player Eric LeGrand, who was paralysed from the neck down, introduced Adaptoys and showed the impact they could have when he played with his nephews.
Results
After only three days in-market, the campaign generated more than 450 global media placements. Coverage included Fortune, Fox News, People magazine and The Huffington Post.
If there is sufficient funding support from the public, the aim is to produce Adaptoys at scale in time for Christmas.
Our Thoughts
This, of course, is only partly to do with advertising – that basic discipline of driving awareness for a cause or product – but lots to do with the skills inherent in the industry.
In this case, it’s the thinking behind the scenes, here demonstrated in the twin insights that drove this project: one, that play is an essential mechanism by which people connect, and without it paralysed people could easily become isolated; and two, that since much of the technology already existed, there was no need to re-invent the wheel.