Globally, it is estimated that there are approximately 100 million eyes with cataracts. A pretty high number which makes us ask you: Have you ever imagined how does it feel like to live with such a disease? Being surrounded only by mist might make you feel confused. Try to be in these people’s shoes for a day. What will you see? Well, according to a project by TBWA\Group Singapore and John Fawcett Foundation, your world would be blurry. Via their “Catarart” campaign, the duo immersed participants in a misty place where they were able to experience the symptoms of cataracts via VR. While wearing the headset, participants were asked to become creative on paper. As you probably have imagined, their artworks follow twisted patterns and deformed elements.

There’s no treatment for cataracts. Yet, it can be cured via surgery. What a patient needs to see again is a cornea transplant. But this seems to be no problem in Argentina, as all of its citizens over 18 years are now automatically registered as organ donors unless they explicitly state otherwise, according to Justina’s Law. Argentina’s National Institute for the Coordination of Ablation and Implantation (INCUCAI) hopes that this law will encourage donations and enable more transplants to be carried out.

However, the organization does not rely solely on this law, so it launched a new campaign in partnership with Wunderman Thompson Argentina creative agency and SONY Music. Argentina’s leading organ donor organization has now a music video that you can’t actually see. The idea behind this concept is to get more people to plan to donate their corneas (after their death, of course).

To boost donations, the WPP-owned agency hired renowned Argentine musician Dante Spinetta who stars in a video clip that’s hidden to the naked eye. The video works only on mobile devices and can be admired when the camera of the smartphone is aimed at the eyes of another person. Otherwise, the images are blurred, and the person sees saturated colors and shadows.

“From the agency’s perspective, our focus was on creatively demonstrating collaboration and empathy, so we developed an interactive tool that only works with the help of another person. This way, we try to allow people to put themselves in the skin (and in the eyes) of those who suffer from this problem, for just a few seconds,” said Dany Minaker and Sebastián Tarazaga, Latam CCO´s of Wunderman Thompson.

“This is exactly the kind of idea we aspire to create at Wunderman Thompson. It marries creativity, technology, and humanity in a way that is inspiring, interactive and collaborative. I love it,” concludes Bas Korsten, Global Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman Thompson.

Through this initiative, the agency wants to raise awareness of the difficulty faced by those awaiting a corneal transplant and the importance of donating. Using the hashtag #XTUSOJOS, the Buenos-Aires-based agency contoured and meticulously designed the project, which is nicely complemented by Tokyyto, who designed exclusive Instagram filters. The artist decided to be part of the project so that all those who wish to support the dissemination of the message can upload and share their stories using these visual adaptations.

We tried the experience as well. But because we are so curious, we chose to point the phone to one of our colleague’s eyes, so we can see the entire video. How about you? Do you choose to go blurry or do you want to admire the entire video? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below!

Credits:

Client: National Institute for the Coordination of Ablation and Implantation (INCUCAI), SONY Music

Agency: Wunderman Thompson Argentina