Someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and contributes to approximately 60-70% of cases, according to WHO. Currently, cases are doubling every twenty years. India has 5.91 million people affected with one or other forms of dementia, of which over 65% of people are affected with Alzheimer’s disease in 2021, and by 2030 over 7.6 million people could be affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s. At present, there is no cure.
Ogilvy Mumbai and MTV have created an app, Memory Karaoke, to help those with Early Onset Alzheimer’s remember important details about their lives as music lyrics, in a campaign called Forgetting Isn’t Funny. Memory Karaoke features four sing-along tracks on MTVMemoryKaraoke.com, into which people diagnosed with dementia can document commonly forgotten information. While they hum along, the documented lyrics appear on the screen like in karaoke. With daily practice, the lyrics – name, address, children’s details, meals etc – can be remembered.
MTV has also joined forces with one of India’s largest non-profit groups, the Alzheimer’s & Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) as knowledge partner for the initiative. ARDSI is affiliated to Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) and is active across India, providing specialised care services for those living with Alzheimer’s. It will add its broad reach to the campaign – accessing not only sufferers but also medical professionals, students, and caregivers.
The songs were composed by alternative electronic act, Komorebi. Musician, Tarana Marwah, has also lent her voice to the tracks on Memory Karaoke as her grandmother, too, was living with Alzheimer’s.
“Music is a therapeutic tool for the mind, body and soul. Memory Karaoke will be an enjoyable, assistive aid for those with early Alzheimer’s to retain. reminisce. Recall,” stated Vidya Shenoy an integrative therapist and dementia care specialist who is the secretary-general of ARDSI.
Akshay Seth, group creative director, and Chinmay Raut, senior creative director at Ogilvy Mumbai, added, “Growing up, we’ve all experienced how retaining new information would become easier whenever it was set to a tune. With the same being true for those with early Alzheimer’s, we wanted to create a platform where tracks could be customized by the family member by entering important information of the affected member as lyrics. Memory Karaoke offers personalized songs for both to practice daily, resulting in better retention and recall over time. The mission is to introduce an enjoyable, daily ritual that takes away the frustration and helps the caregiver and the person with early Alzheimer’s to eventually sing in a manner comfortable to them.”
Credits:
Agency: Ogilvy Mumbai
Chief Creative Officers, India: Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha & Sukesh Nayak
Group Creative Director: Akshay Seth
Senior Creative Director: Chinmay Raut
Senior Vice President: Sushma Singh Vivek
Senior Vice President: Technology & Transformation: Roopesh Shah,
Client Servicing Director: Prithviraj Shetty
Account Director: Amberisch Gawaskar
Developer: Ronin Labs
Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder: Sumeet Basak
Film Production: Vanilla Films
Director: Chintan Pandav
