We created custom phone cards that let people call loved ones anywhere in the world. What they didn’t realize was that the call routed through a hacked VoIP server which modulated their voice to make the caller sound unrecognizable. After the call ended, they received pre-programmed text messages explaining why the listener couldn’t recognize them. They were also encouraged to visit the Branch Out Neurological Foundation website to learn more about Alzheimer’s research and to donate. With permission, we used some of the conversations in 60 second PSA radio spots. Then we took our voice modulation technology to podcasts. Like the phone voices, each host’s voice was modulated to sound unrecognizable. Confused listeners reacted online to the strange voice claiming to be the one they knew. At the end, the host unmodulated their voice to explain the stunt, the Branch Out Neurological Foundation and the importance of Alzheimer’s research.

We created custom phone cards that were programmed to route outgoing calls through a Asterix VoIP phone server that modulated the caller’s voice to sound unrecognizable. A total of 1000 cards were manufactured at a total cost of approximately $250CDN, and were distributed for free from 20/02/2017 to 20/03/2017 in Toronto Canada. With permission, we aired some of the recorded conversations over the radio. The radio spots aired 19/04/2017 on the following programs: Q107 EDGE and AM 640 in Toronto. Country 105 Q107 and CHQR in Calgary. Rock 101, CFOX, AM 980 and Traffic 730 in Vancouver. We then extended the campaign online to popular podcasts, which launched on episodes between 17/04/2017 - 17/05/2017. The podcasts include: Canadaland, The Imposter, Rant & Bollox, The One Sheet, and Droids Canada. The social media responses were recorded through Facebook and Twitter.

Over the course of the campaign, website traffic skyrocketed over 1,100%. First-time donors rose 56%, while donations shot up by 432%, making the untraditional campaign one of the most successful in the foundation’s history.