Otrivin creates AirBubble for cleaner playgrounds

Saatchi & Saatchi has collaborated with nasal spray brand Otrivin and architecture and innovation firm ecoLogicStudio to create the world’s first air purifying bio-technological playground.

The Otrivin AirBubble is part of a wider brand purpose campaign designed to raise awareness of the impact of air pollution on children’s health and empower everyone to take action to reduce this impact. The campaign also supports the launch of Otrivin Breathe Clean, a new nasal spray.

The concept of the Airbubble was devised by Saatchi & Saatchi to create a playground environment that cleans the air children breathe while they play. The agency then approached ecoLogicStudio, an internationally renowned design innovation agency that specialises in nature-based solutions for the built environment, to help turn the idea into reality.

AirBubble integrates 52 cylinders of algae that through photosynthesis filtrates the pollutants in the air and releases oxygen. The children themselves also power the filtration system as their activity within the bubble helps circulate the air through the algae so that the more they play, the better it cleans.

Farhad Nadeem, Global Marketing Director Otrivin, said: “Pollution is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. What’s more, children are more heavily impacted as they are closer to the ground where toxic particles gather. Otrivin exists to help people breathe better, and that is what we are doing with this We were very excited by the innovation challenge: what if we could build a playground in the middle of the city, inside which the air would be clean? This was the beginning of a great partnership with ecoLogicStudio and Saatchi & Saatchi, which led to the launch of the world first air purifying playground, combining architecture, biotechnology and science.”

To support the launch of the playground, Saatchi & Saatchi developed a film with award-winning Cannes director Tino of Body Form and Blood Normal fame. The black-and-white ad features children wearing gas masks and talking the impact of air pollution on them.

The entire film is narrated with the words of 9-year-old Licypriya Kangujam. Kangujam is one of the world’s leading youth climate change activists and addressed world leaders at COP-25. The film concludes by landing on the line, ‘let’s help them breathe better’.

Lauren Dyer, Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: “You just need to listen to the powerful words from children like Licypriya Kangujam to understand how urgent this cause is. We have a responsibility to help kids breathe better. So when you harness the incredible technology of ecoLogicStudio, combined with Otrivin’s brand purpose and a ‘Nothing is Impossible’ goal, we have managed to create something that shows - through science - it’s actually possible to clean the air..’

Dr. Claudia Pasquero, co-founder and director at, ecoLogicStudio, added: “This playground needs two sources of power: solar energy and kids’ instinctive drive to explore and to play. These constitute the inexhaustible and renewable fuels of the AirBubble that can be obtained effortlessly. The AirBubble is the trigger of a process that can only grow and multiply its beneficial effects towards future generations. It’s all in our hands – we are responsible for our health and climate.”

The Otrivin AirBubble will be open to the public for the next four months during which time air quality in the playground will be continually tracked to measure its impact on air pollution levels.

Publicis Groupe UK agencies Publicis Media, MSL and Prodigious also supported on the initiative.

CREDITS

Campaign:

CAMPAIGN TITLE: Air Bubble

CLIENT: GSK

ADVERTISING AGENCY: Saatchi & Saatchi

CCO: Guillermo Vega

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR:

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Lauren Dyer

COPYWRITER: Katy Stanage, Olivia Weston

ART DIRECTOR: Fabiano Gomes, Emily Downing

DESIGNER: Miri Menendez

PLANNER: Mathieu Abet

BUSINESS LEAD: Clare Shaw

ACCOUNT TEAM: Isaac Hickinbottom, Zara Hutchins

TV PRODUCER: Fritha Dickie

CREATIVE PRODUCER: Emma Whiting

MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: Publicis

MEDIA PLANNER: Sarah Baumann

Generation Change:

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Stink

DIRECTOR: Tino

EDITOR: Danilo Abraham

PRODUCER: Fran Thompson

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Black Kite

COMPOSER: Glen Brown

AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Wake The Town

Air Bubble Case Study:

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Papaya

DIRECTOR: Tomasz Knittel

PRODUCER: Agnieszka Mucha