EUROFARMA | SCROLLING THERAPY | 2023
Turning 2.5 Wasted Hours a Day Into Time That Rebuilds Muscle / EUROFARMA "SCROLLING THERAPY"
Parkinson's disease slowly erases facial expressions. People lose the ability to smile, to look surprised. But this app turns the scrolling time everyone already wastes every day into a tool for getting those muscles back.
The problem
89% of people with Parkinson's disease experience a symptom called "facial masking." They gradually lose control of the facial muscles used to smile, cry, or look surprised. Meanwhile, people spend an average of 2.5 hours a day scrolling through social media.
The insight
Patients know facial exercises can slow the progression of their symptoms, but they don't do them. So why not sneak those exercises into something they do without fail every day: scrolling on their phone? The idea came from Sebastián Porta, an employee at Dentsu Creative who himself has Parkinson's disease.
The idea
It's called Scrolling Therapy. Using a smartphone's camera and AI facial recognition, it turns facial muscle exercises—smiling, raising your eyebrows, frowning—directly into commands for Facebook and Instagram. Smile, and the feed scrolls. Raise your eyebrows, and it likes a post. Just by using social media as usual, the app is designed to help improve symptoms over 12 weeks.
What happened
It launched for free in 10 countries in April 2023. That same year it won the Grand Prix in the Pharma category at Cannes Lions. It's now open to 8.5 million people living with Parkinson's disease.
Afterthought
It's not just the patients who are helped by this. For family members and caregivers who watch someone they love stop smiling, this is a source of hope too. If it can bring back even a little of what was lost, it's not really just an ad campaign anymore.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2023
