Music for Life
Studio Brussels
Issue 27 | June 2013
Agency
Mortierbrigade
Creative Team
Creative Directors Jens Mortier Joost Berends Philippe De Ceuster Creatives Stefan van den Boogaard Tim Arts Bram Ceuppens Stijn Jansen Client Service Director Veerle De Vos Agency Producer Evert Vermeire Production Company Caviar Director Kaat Beels Producer Audrey Dierckx Executive Producer Kato Maes Sound Sonicville
Production Team
Clients Peter Claes Jan Van Biesen Gunther Van Acker
Date
December 2012
Background
Every year, radio station Studio Brussels organised a charity event they called ‘Music for Life’.
In 2012 they chose to raise awareness of dementia because studies had shown that music was able to have a therapeutic effect on sufferers.
As a music station, they wanted to show that music could help improve people’s lives.
Idea
A group of singers, all suffering from dementia, was brought together and called The Betties. They were invited to play a live concert as the warm-up act before one of the world’s most popular bands, Muse.
In a four-part documentary aired on TV and online on Studio Brussels’ website, The Betties were able to tell their story and Belgium was able to understand the disease better - the ups and downs of being a victim of dementia, how the relatives dealt with the condition, the work of the music therapists and, of course, the rehearsals. Finally, there was the concert itself.
Each episode was watched by more than 1.2 million people.
Results
Dementia became visible, and people began talking about it in the media as well as in social forums. A taboo had been broken, which inspired hope and gave music therapy a boost. 120 retirement homes began using music therapy.
Our Thoughts
The Zimmers trod this path before The Betties but never mind that, this is a terrific example of how to strengthen a brand through shared values.
A radio station demonstrating that it has a role to play in the community and demonstrating that it can do that through the power of music, what’s not to like in that clever bit of thinking?
But it’s not just clever, which makes the idea sound cold and calculated, it is also very touching.
Many rock bands would have been condescending but not Muse, who come across as sincere and likeable.
Really, there are few submission videos which make me blink energetically, but this did. Studio Brussels have managed to restore dignity to a group of people who seemed to have had it stripped from them. That’s some achievement.
You can see The Betties sing at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixjxGnPpV10