Tooth Tunes is certainly one of the most bizarre product innovations I have seen in a long time. It is also one of the most bizarre advertisements I've seen with its oddly looped version of Kiss' "Rock n' Roll All Night," the reference to the Apple 1984 ads, the strange scientific diagrams meant to prove to us that "yes, this really works" and the dancing--oh the dancing.
Mostly, though, its an example of what happens when a planner hangs their hat on a single perceptual insight.
That insight: "to kids, brushing is thought of as a boring routine that feels like a punishment." I buy that as a point of truth. Kids do feel that way about brushing. Still I don't buy it as a provocative insight that can lead to a solution. And it didn't. It lead to a worthless product that plays two minutes of looped music, every morning, noon and night, for 6 months.
Sounds like more punishment to me.
True or False, the insight doesn't work because it's the wrong way to look at the issue of good brushing among children. Who cares what kids feel about doing it? What we should care about are the complex dynamics behind the outlying behavior: the cultural symbols and rituals that regulate individual performance towards obsession, in this case obsession with teeth. And that means asking: what's different about kids who brush v. those who don't; what's the root of the good behavior for those few who have had solid lifelong brushing habits; what do clean teeth symbolize for kids; when and why did humans start brushing their teeth? All of the above and then some.
Don't and you get . . . click play at your own risk.
Mostly, though, its an example of what happens when a planner hangs their hat on a single perceptual insight.
That insight: "to kids, brushing is thought of as a boring routine that feels like a punishment." I buy that as a point of truth. Kids do feel that way about brushing. Still I don't buy it as a provocative insight that can lead to a solution. And it didn't. It lead to a worthless product that plays two minutes of looped music, every morning, noon and night, for 6 months.
Sounds like more punishment to me.
True or False, the insight doesn't work because it's the wrong way to look at the issue of good brushing among children. Who cares what kids feel about doing it? What we should care about are the complex dynamics behind the outlying behavior: the cultural symbols and rituals that regulate individual performance towards obsession, in this case obsession with teeth. And that means asking: what's different about kids who brush v. those who don't; what's the root of the good behavior for those few who have had solid lifelong brushing habits; what do clean teeth symbolize for kids; when and why did humans start brushing their teeth? All of the above and then some.
Don't and you get . . . click play at your own risk.
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