Case Study: Project Revoice
Using emerging technology, BWM Dentsu created a solution to a critical problem facing patients of ALS. Nonetheless, the journey to an emotional climax was one which tested the limits of both this new tech and the team leading the project.
Background
The Ice Bucket Challenge was a viral sensation in the summer of 2014. It brought the topic of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) to public prominence, and as a result of the viral, the ALS Foundation were the beneficiaries of $31.5m in donations (compared to just 1.9m the year before).
A progressive motor neuron disease, one of the symptoms of ALS is that patients lose the ability to speak. At the Australian agency BWM Dentsu, ECD Asheen Naidu, and CD Oskar Westerdal had an idea that could potentially end this problem. Using machine learning and deep voice software technology combined with Tobii eye-tracking,Project Revoice would enable ALS patients to communicate with their own voices once again.
The brief
Despite not originating in a typical client brief, the team felt the idea was too important to ignore. As Westerdal explains, "This project was such an important and emotional one, and such a labour of love, that everybody at the agency realised we had to make space for it."
The idea
The team chose Pat Quinn to be the first to test the deep voice technology. Quinn had been the figurehead of the ALS Foundation during the Ice Bucket Challenge, so had the media clout and recognition to spread the word of the campaign. To reach Quinn, the first had to go through the Foundation, who agreed to progress the idea – with the caveat that they wouldn't tell Quinn until they knew it would work.
For the ALS Foundation, the project served an essential purpose – giving living sufferers a tangible benefit from donations. As Naidu explains, "the Ice Bucket Challenge created a unique problem because research takes a long time, people living with ALS today may not see the results of the research. So for the Foundation, this was a PR challenge; to show the community that the work they were doing was something they could benefit from, now."
With the agency's backing and the Foundation on board, BWM needed a partner to deliver this potentially life-changing idea. It wasn't until they brought Lyrebird on-board that they found a company to collaborate on creative use of voice technology and machine learning.
The production
Usually, Lyrebird users would record themselves speaking many hundreds of sentences, to build up a library of vocals for the machine to process. But Quinn's voice had already been lost.
The answer lied on the internet; thanks to his status as spokesman for the Ice Bucket Challenge, and ALS Foundation, there was ample footage of him online. So his many talks and interviews were stripped of their audio and fed into Lyrebird's deep voice algorithm.
The results were not good. Due to the varying and often poor audio quality of the interviews, the machine struggled to create a lifelike voice for Quinn. For Westerdal, it felt like it could be the end-of-the-road for the idea, "There were so many roadblocks tech-wise. There were many times when it just looked like it wasn't going to work".
Undeterred, the team turned to their friends at Rumble Studios in Sydney. Rumble cleaned up a bank of the audio, over and over, until it was of a quality that Lyrebird required.
When they were finally confident that the voice sounded like Quinn, they began the final – and most nerve-wracking step – to reveal it to Quinn himself.
In March 2018 Naidu and Westerdal flew to Yonkers, New York, and met the man himself. It was an emotional moment for all involved, "Up until that point we were utterly terrified that it was going to crash and burn…" says Westerdal, but thankfully, "his reaction was a pretty magical moment." Quinn was delighted. Now it was time to unleash the voice for real.
A group of Quinn's close friends and family were invited round to his living room – but the reason wasn't revealed. Naidu and Westerdal watched from a monitor in the kitchen, with just the cameraman remaining in the room with the group. Quinn had prepared a speech for the occasion, in his usual irreverent tone. Westerdal is in no doubt as to the power of that occasion: "It was one of those moments you remember for the rest of your life, for everyone involved."
Before Project Revoice, Quinn had refused to use the machine voice, arguing that it didn't represent him. But Westerdal believes Project Revoice changed that, "when we left New York he was a like a different guy," as he returned to giving speeches, motivational conferences and interviews.
The launch
The goal of the creative campaign was to create a technology that gave ALS patients their voice back. But the deep voice tech alone wouldn't raise awareness, that would need a communications campaign. And so in April 2018 the Project Revoice case study film and social assets were created and released by BWM's media agency, Haystack.
The response
The ALS community was hugely positive as Lyrebird opened up this new voice technology and machine learning to enable patients to use it themselves. "Our priority was to get people to store their voices, so when you lose your voice in a year or twos' time, it's there." Westerdal explains, "So the real impact won't really be felt for years."
Development on the project continues from all sides. Lyrebird is developing beyond American English accents, and conversations with Tobii continue to work towards closer technological integrations. A new, more accessible version of the website is soon to launch.
"What's great about this is that it uses deep voice technology in a very emotional way: it delivered a very human solution.", says Westerdal. Despite winning eight D&AD Pencils, including a coveted D&AD Black Pencil in Digital Design, it's still the real human impact that matters the most, "we've watched the film 1000 times, but we still get choked up every time we watch it."
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