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Cannes Lions 2023 Shortlist Finalist: Marbl by Meta
My partner Karen Castañeda (MX Sr. Art Director) and I (USA Copywriter) represented Media.Monks in the Innovation category for the 2023 Cannes Lions NextUp competition. We were one of the ten teams that made the shortlist.
The brief:
Virtual Reality promises to transport users into new experiences and faraway places–even new worlds. Unfortunately, this impact isn’t getting enough clout because many still see it as a gaming device.
Our challenge, presented by Meta, was to excite Gen Z about the potential of VR as a vehicle for change. Through innovative technology, we were asked to demonstrate VR’s ability to empower and deepen empathy and equity—while moving the needle around topics like mental health, medicine, safety, or social justice.
Strategy:
Through research, we learned that anxiety is the most widely diagnosed mental health condition among Gen Z.
Our strategy focuses on giving Gen Z the power and tools they deserve over their mental health. By offering a VR experience that’s more personal, effective, accessible, and stimulating compared to existing anxiety-reducing methods, we're offering a modern solution that helps users take more control over their lives and feel better.
And since VR can combine everything we need to make this happen, Karen and I were able to design different experiences where sound therapy, focus activities, and body activation journeys, coupled with AI technology, can help reduce anxiety better.
The idea
We already watch and listen to different technologies to try to relieve anxiety. But, when we’re dealing with it, it alters our whole reality.
So we created Marbl – the first fully tech-immersive VR headset that offers powerful experiences, built to relieve anxiety and to help you not lose your marbles!
How it works
Marbl’s friendly UX design makes immersive experiences super easy to navigate and explore.
Just choose from any of the available journeys and do things like explore a forest, gaze at the stars beside a campfire, or breathe/stretch on the beach.
Meet your sidekick, Ami!
Ami is Marbl’s Ai-generated avatar developed with the help of psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical experts, to quickly find the perfect experience and detect anxious behavior so users can explore, relax, or do anything that helps calm anxiety right away.
Ami can detect breathing levels and heart rates and offer more personalized assistance.
Thanks to existing Ai and VR technology, Marbl is just the beginning of how we can improve the future of mental health.
The result
We joined hundreds of creative minds, including some of the most influential artists, designers, copywriters, and friends worldwide, to participate in this competition.
As a result, we were shortlisted. The winner in this category was outstanding, and this opportunity inspired me to continue doing more fun work like this!