Toothbrush Games
View the case- Brand
- LZG
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Mini-Games
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- Ogilvy Germany
Objective
LZG, Rhineland-Palatinate's public health authority, needed to get young children brushing their teeth regularly and for the full recommended time — a habit that leaflets and posters had struggled to instill. Rather than another awareness campaign, the brief called for something that made the behavior itself the message, turning a chore parents had to police into something the child would want to do unprompted.
Solution
The app sits propped up by the sink, its front camera turned on the child so they see themselves on screen. They pick one of two scenes — a firefighter dousing flames or a zookeeper hosing down dirty animals — then simply start brushing: the app listens for the sound of the brush and drives the action only while it hears real brushing, pausing the moment the child stops. A timer in the corner counts down the recommended two minutes as the fire gets put out or the animals come clean, and once it runs out the session closes with a small reward scene celebrating the finished job.
- 1
A parent downloads the free app on an iPad and props it up at the sink; it targets children aged 3 to 6 and carries no in-app purchases.
- 2
At the start, the child picks one of two mini-games: a firefighter story or a zoo story.
- 3
The child brushes their teeth in front of the iPad's front camera, seeing themselves on screen; the brushing sound itself drives the action, which advances only while real brushing is detected and stops the moment it stops.
- 4
In the firefighter scenario, the child plays a firefighter elephant who puts out a fire using foam generated by the brushing.
- 5
In the zoo scenario, the child plays a zookeeper who washes the animals using the same brushing motions.
- 6
A timer in the top-left corner tracks the session, which runs for a fixed two minutes.
- 7
When the two minutes end, the session closes with a reward scene in which the character celebrates and sings.
- 8
The developers promised further scenarios would be added over time, so returning players could expect new stories beyond the original two.
