Brush Busters
- Brand
- Philips Sonicare
- Year
- 2014
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- Colorbleed
- With
- Big Orange
Objective
Kids brush too briefly and too rarely, and getting them to the sink is a daily battle parents lose. Philips built Brush Busters to sell the new Sonicare for Kids electric brush by turning that fight into something children actually want to do, while giving dentists and parents a message they could both get behind.
Solution
The player picks a hero, Bjorn Big Tooth or Vicky One Fang, then holds their Sonicare toothbrush up to the phone or tablet so the app can recognize its sound and start the session automatically (kids without the electric brush can start manually). As they brush, cavity monsters and bacteria vanish from the hero's animated mouth on screen, and each tooth lights up clean once its zone is done. Hit the full two minutes and the hero is saved, earning points and rewards. Parents get a separate view with a brushing calendar, stats on frequency and coverage, and the option to set their own real-world rewards, like a trip to the pool.
- 1
The player opens the free Sonicare for Kids companion app on a phone or tablet and picks a character to play as: Vicky One Fang, a vampire, or Bjørn Big Tooth, a viking.
- 2
Holding a powered-on Sonicare for Kids brush near the device's microphone starts a session automatically, as the app listens for the brush's sound to detect brushing in progress; with any other brush, the player starts the session by hand.
- 3
A short animated clip shows which areas of the mouth to brush and in what order before each session begins.
- 4
During the session the player's own brushing motions clear animated cavity monsters and bacteria off the chosen character's teeth, with a clean tooth lighting up on screen as each zone is finished.
- 5
A built-in two-minute timer tracks the recommended brushing time; completing it saves the character's teeth and ends the session.
- 6
Finishing a session earns points and unlocks in-app rewards and badges, building a collection across repeated sessions.
- 7
A separate parent section lets an adult set custom real-world rewards for consistent brushing, such as a trip to the pool, alongside a calendar and statistics on how often and how well the child has brushed, which can be shown at dental checkups.
