To get kids offline and outside, we created a book that you can only read with dirt. Introducing "The OMO Book of Dirt".
Introduction // Kids are spending more time online than outside. OMO wanted to bring its "Dirt is Good" strategy to life in a way that helped kids get off their screens and reconnect with nature. So we created a book that could only be read with dirt. After working on this for 2 years, I'm proud to present...
Chapter 1 // The Case Study
Chapter 2 // The Story
Illustrated by renowned local artist, Karabo Poppy,
“The Tale of Spots and Stripes” tells the story of two rival packs divided by the patterns on their fur.
Through dirt and youthful innocence, the children show their parents the way and in doing so, teach us all a lesson in unity.
Chapter 3 // The Boards
We launched the book by trading the classroom for the outdoors and got school kids to experience first-hand why Dirt is Good. “The Tale of Spots and Stripes” has been embraced by the Child Development community as a multi-sensory tool, gathering support and endorsement from the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Educanda, South Africa's chief supplier of child development tools and school learning equipment.
Chapter 4 // The Science
As the children discovered the beautifully illustrated story, they also exercised key child development skills such as Tactile and Fine Motor skills, Visual Perception, Language Development and Education.
Chapter 5 // The Illustrations
We collaborated with renowned local artist, Karabo Poppy, to bring "The Tale of Spots and Stripes" to life. We then worked with Colourtone Aries to develop a new type of ink formula, that when rubbed with dirt, revealed the new African fable I wrote. These are just a few examples...
Special thanks to Rachel Carey (Paediatric Occupational Therapist) for the incredible guidance throughout this project, Professor Eric Atmore for helping us fine-tune the Child Development properties, and the Centre for Early Childhood Development for endorsing "The Tale of Spots and Stripes". We could not have done this without you.
Accolades:
Cannes Lions // Shortlist x2
The Loeries // Silver //Activation
1st Place // Ad of the Month (Live Communications)
Credits:
Executive Creative Director: Tseliso Rangaka, Dede Laurentino
Associate Executive Creative Director: Nicholas Wittenberg
Creative Director: Mike Martin
Creative Director / Copywriter: Alex Goldberg
Creative Director / Art Director: Ryan Barkhuizen
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Riaan Van Wyk
Designer / Senior Art Director: Karen Vermeulen
Junior Art Director: Maliya Muhande
Client Service: Yusuf Khalil, Kirsten Gerber, Gemma Thompson
Project Manager: Jen Searle, Julie Brown, Cacia du Plessis
Strategy: Claire Brashay, Tlali T. Taoana
Production Company: The Institute
Director: Duvan Durand
Producer: Hennie Van Halen
Illustrator: Karabo Poppy
PR: Lameez Mohd
Sound & Audio: Sonar (Chris Querido)
Printing: Colourtone Aries