Yoobot vs YooNot
Open the game- Brand
- British Heart Foundation
- Year
- 2009
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Non-profit
- Mechanic
- Exploration
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Grey London
- With
- BLOC
Objective
The British Heart Foundation needed to shift from traditional health messaging to engagement-based learning to help children establish lifelong healthy eating habits and address the UK childhood obesity epidemic, where one in three children was overweight or obese.
Solution
Yoobot vs YooNot was an online avatar creation game launching September 28, 2009. Children created their own virtual character (Yoobot) and managed its health through diet and exercise choices, while also encountering YooNot—an evil alter-ego embodying unhealthy behaviors like junk food consumption and physical inactivity. The game allowed children to experiment with the long-term health consequences of their dietary choices through an interactive, playable experience. A promotional National YooBot Day (December 21) invited children to enter a competition for their character to appear on Nickelodeon.
Results
Over 1 million children created Yobots. 78% of children aged 11–13 who played the game reported improved diets. The campaign won a Silver Award and The Broadbent Prize for Best Dedication to Effectiveness (2009).
