SUB CATEGORY :

BEST USE OF AUDIO

COMPANY ENTERING :

BWM DENTSU, SYDNEY

TITLE :

PROJECT REVOICE

BRAND :

THE ALS ASSOCIATION

ADVERTISER :

THE ALS ASSOCIATION

AGENCY :

BWM DENTSU, SYDNEY

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

ROB BELGIOVANE

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

ASHEEN NAIDU

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

ELLIOT OWEN

SENIOR CREATIVE TEAM :

RENÉ SCHULTZ/OSKAR WESTERDAL

COPYWRITER :

OSKAR WESTERDAL

ART DIRECTOR :

RENÉ SCHULTZ

DESIGN DIRECTOR :

EEUWOUT 'DUTCHY' BAART

PR AGENCY :

HAYSTAC

AGENCY PRODUCER :

EMMA DURLACHER

DIGITAL PRODUCER :

JENNA MILLS

MEDIA AGENCY :

HAYSTAC, SYDNEY

NATIONAL GENERAL MANAGER HAYSTAC :

JASON CARNEW

GENERAL MANAGER HAYSTAC SYDNEY :

SARAH LITTLEFAIR

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

FINCH, SYDNEY

CO-FOUNDER & CEO :

ALEXANDRE DE BRÉBISSON

CO-FOUNDER :

JOSE SOTELO/KUNDAN KUMAR

DIRECTOR :

BRETT LUDEMAN

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER :

COREY ESSE

FILM PRODUCER :

CLAIRE THOMPSON

TECHNOLOGY PARTNER :

LYREBIRD

HEAD OF OPERATIONS :

DAVID DODERO

MANAGING DIRECTOR :

EMAD TAHTOUH

EDITOR :

BRENDON KILLEN

PRODUCER :

CARA SZABO

TECHNOLOGY PARTNER :

NAKATOMI

SENIOR ENGINEER :

PATRICK BARNES

ENGINEER :

HAMISH PAIN

INTERACTIVE TEAM LEAD :

BEN BRAY

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

RUMBLE STUDIOS, SYDNEY

GENERAL MANAGER :

CHRISTOPHER GREGSON

SOUND DESIGNER :

TONE ASTON/CAM MILNE

SOUND STUDIO PRODUCER :

MICHAEL GIE

MUSIC COMPOSER :

DARREN LIM

POST PRODUCER :

SHA TOTH

WEBSITE :

SPACE 66

THE BRIEF :

ALS IS A DISEASE THAT AFFECTS NERVE CELLS IN THE BRAIN AND
THE SPINAL CORD. WITHIN A COUPLE OF YEARS MOST PATIENTS END UP PARALYSED IN A WHEELCHAIR AND FORCED TO COMMUNICATE VIA
TEXT-TO-SPEECH DEVICES, WITH A ‘COMPUTER’ VOICE. CURRENTLY, THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE WITH ALS CAN USE THEIR OWN VOICES IS BY BANKING THOUSANDS OF SENTENCES, WHICH CAN BE REPURPOSED AS A SET
OF PHRASES OR WORDS MECHANICALLY STITCHED TOGETHER FROM RECORDED SYLLABLES. OUR GOAL WAS TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE WITH ALS BY GIVING SUFFERERS THE FULL USE OF THEIR OWN AUTHENTIC VOICES.

THE STRATEGY :

EVER SINCE THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE RAISED OVER $115 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE ALS ASSOCIATION, THE ALS COMMUNITY HAS CRAVED BREAKTHROUGHS THAT CAN IMPROVE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. WITH PROJECT REVOICE, WE CREATED AN INSPIRING CONTINUATION OF
THE ICE BUCKET STORY, ONE THAT HAS A DIRECT AND TANGIBLE IMPACT ON THE DAY-TO-DAY LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF SUFFERERS. BY LAUNCHING
THE PROGRAM WITH A FAMOUS ALS ADVOCATE KNOWN FOR THE BIGGEST STORY IN ALS ASSOCIATION HISTORY, WE RALLIED SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT BOTH WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND, INSPIRING PATIENTS ACROSS THE WORLD TO JOIN THE PROGRAM TO RECEIVE THEIR OWN REVOICE.

THE EXECUTION :

TO LAUNCH THE PROGRAM WE RECREATED THE VOICE OF PAT QUINN,
CO-FOUNDER OF THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE. SINCE PAT HADN’T BANKED HIS VOICE, WE MANUALLY ANALYZED, CLEANED UP AND TRANSCRIBED HUNDREDS OF OLD ICE BUCKET INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES TO CREATE A DATABANK FOR OUR ALGORITHM.
ONCE THE VOICE HAD BEEN CLONED, WE BUILT A CUSTOM USER INTERFACE FOR PAT TO ACCESS THE VOICE THROUGH HIS EYE-TRACKING COMPUTER. TO MAKE THIS TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO THE WIDER ALS COMMUNITY, PROJECT REVOICE HAS BUILT AN ONLINE VOICE BANK WHERE PATIENTS CAN RECORD THE VOICE MATERIAL NECESSARY TO CREATE THEIR OWN ‘REVOICES’.

THE RESULT :

OVER 900 MILLION EARNED MEDIA REACH. OVER ONE MILLION ORGANIC VIDEO VIEWS IN THE FIRST WEEK. BY WEEK TWO OVER 41 MILLION PEOPLE HAD POSTED, COMMENTED SHARED OR MENTIONED THE CAMPAIGN.
OVER 670 ARTICLES WRITTEN GLOBALLY. $9.8 MILLION ESTIMATED EARNED PR VALUE. 500 PATIENTS JOINED IN THE FIRST MONTH ALONE.
ON AVERAGE, 105 PEOPLE A WEEK ARE DIAGNOSED WITH ALS IN THE UNITED STATES. WHILE THE TECHNOLOGY IS CURRENTLY LIMITED TO ENGLISH-SPEAKING PATIENTS ONLY, THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM IS TO PREVENT ANYONE DIAGNOSED WITH ALS FROM LOSING THEIR VOICE.