TBWA Hakuhodo makes viruses cute to help kids murder them

TBWA Hakuhodo and Dreams Inc have launced the 'We are viruses' project, which aims to get kids to wash their hands by turning deadly pathogens into spunky animated characters.

In the music video above, we get to know the powers of six viruses: Covid-19, influenza, Norovirus, Ebola, SARS, and Adenovirus. But just when we start to feel some connection to our vivid new friends, hand-washing comes along and ends them, which is the point. 

In addition to the video, Dreams Inc is launching a line of tablet soaps in the shapes of the six characters. The tablets dissolve in 30 seconds—the amount of washing time it takes to assure virus destruction. The effort arose from research that showed 60% of people had difficulty getting kids to wash their hands effectively.

Singing the song in the video is Yoshio Kojima, a popular-with-kids comedian and educational YouTuber. There's also a campaign website and a making-of video.

The creation of the virus characters and their descriptions of themselves was supervised by Dr Keiko Kono, director of Kono Medical Clinic. Hooray, scientific voracity!

CREDITS

Executive Creative Director: Kazoo Sato
Creative Director: Yuhei Ito
Copywriter: Shohei Ooishi
Art Director: Aya Naito
Designer: Takao Mizumoto
D＆Photographer: Nagisa Toya
Head of Producer: Tsutomu Hirakue
Senior Producer: Wataru Ito
PR Planner: Kyosuke Hashimoto
Producer: Yutaka Sato
Director: Shinri Abe
Motion Designer: Kiyotaka Sumiyoshi
Director: Kosuke Kitada