Siemens Healthineers’ “Magnetic Stories” won the Pharma Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Monday. The work, created with IPG Health Network’s Area 23, aimed to bring comfort to children going through medical testing by pairing the scary sounds of MRI machines with cheerful audio stories.
Siemens wins Pharma Grand Prix with comforting children’s audiobooks for scary MRIs
The MRI manufacturer partnered with children’s authors to pair stories with the sound patterns of various types of MRI scans, which can be louder than a military jet, according to the company. The authors synchronized the sounds and stories so that as a child is going through an MRI scan, the noise becomes part of the action.
For example, the chugging rhythm of a cranial scan becomes “The Flying Train” and the jarring clang of a spinal scan is turned into the messy mishaps of a clumsy robot in “A Shower of Potato Chips.”
Siemens aims to expand the program, according to a campaign case study, to include additional stories and in additional languages.
In addition to the Pharma Grand Prix, which recognized the campaign’s innovation in brand experience and activation, the campaign also won a Silver Lion for its use of radio and audio mediums in the Pharma category.
Gold winners
“Voice 2 Diabetes” from Klick Health for KVI Brave Fund won the single Gold Lion in the Pharma category. The product uses AI voice analysis captured on a smartphone to identify Type 2 Diabetes in the user. The technology is being implemented for other diseases.