What if we could turn everyday objects made of paper and fabric into protection from mosquitoes by sealing in a repellent activated by touch and movement? Our client, Ananse, was intrigued. Could we invent an entirely new class of repellent – and even better -- one made entirely of natural repellent ingredients? It had never been done.

To appeal to children, who dislike sticky, smelly topical repellents, we’d make the products educational and fun to use at school and playtime. We tapped an author to write and illustrate a story that would bring the region’s rich mythology of Amazon Warriors to life. To create a collection, we produced a repellent coloring book, crayons and a superhero’s cape for imaginative children. Activated by mere movement, the repellent sealed inside these objects would create a six-hour window of mosquito protection, extending up to five feet in diameter, and lasting three months.

Ananse spent a year developing the coating technology to seal in repellent to paper, fabric and crayons. During this time, we wrote “Amazon Warriors,” bringing a mythology of warriors, summoned to save the forest from devastation, to life.

Working with IPAM, we first visited Tapara Miri in Pará, an isolated community of 1,896 people, living in swampland teeming with mosquitoes, crocodiles, and snakes. G1, a division of Globo TV, the country’s largest TV network, trekked 4,000 km with us—via aircraft, jeep and boat—to break the story.

Initially, villagers were suspicious of strangers bearing unexpected gifts. Our volunteers visited every home to provide a collection to every child. We filled the school with books and crayons, arming teachers with new lessons and mosquito-fighting tools.

Today, there’s a welcome new sight: Amazonian children wearing superhero capes.

The story has reached a half-billion people.

Every major Brazilian media outlet covered the story, and coverage spilled to 30 countries, transforming Tapara Miri into a global testing ground for everyday objects that repel mosquitoes. 67,000+ earned media stories appeared within three weeks of our visit, reaching 500 million people. Another 300 stories ran on social media, viewed and shared 4.5+ million times.

Our campaign won the endorsement of the Brazilian Health Department, whose minister once said, “We’re losing the battle against the mosquito in an ugly way.” Safe Collection won approval for distribution. Pediatricians and IPAM also endorse it. The books have been added to curricula in Pará State. According to IPAM, 90% of Tapara Miri children are wearing the capes and reading the books weeks later.

There are no new reports of a malaria or yellow fever outbreak in the village. IPAM will replenish kits every three months; 20,000 are being distributed to other villages.

The mosquito claims one million lives and afflicts 700 million people annually with diseases like yellow fever and malaria. Brazil’s vast Amazon is plagued by high rates of infection. Families in remote, impoverished villages have limited access to vaccines, and repellents are unaffordable and in short supply, leaving children especially vulnerable. We approached Brazilian chemical manufacturer leader Ananse with a CSR idea to invent a new form of protection that would turn everyday objects (books, toys) into safe, natural mosquito repellents. Distribution of the first collection, turning mosquito protection into “child’s play,” would require door-to-door delivery, deep in the jungle.

Given growing concern over mosquitos, demand for vaccines, medicines and repellents among Brazil’s 200 million population has skyrocketed. However, for many Brazilians outside large cities, these solutions aren’t available or affordable. In contrast, mosquito-repellent books, crayons and children’s costumes could become familiar items any child could use. The idea was so simple, yet so complex, no one had thought of it, until now.

Our CSR campaign would bring aid to Brazilian families who most needed protection for their children. By plane, boat and finally on foot, we targeted villages in the Amazon rainforest where mosquito-borne diseases raged.

Our strategy relied on direct, door-to-door distribution of products and 1:1 education and word of mouth, given the limited means of modern communication technology. To establish trust and credibility, we teamed up with IPAM, a nonprofit with local relationships. Brazilian media journeying with us were key to amplifying the story throughout the country.

Yellow fever (YF), spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is the “Brazilian plague,” with a kill rate equal to Ebola’s. Brazil’s current YF outbreak (with 144 confirmed deaths) is the largest since the 1980s. Malaria cases have risen 35% in one year, with 2,000 infections. Children are at risk; 86% of malaria deaths globally occur under age five.

Brazil’s Health Ministry is hard-pressed to stop the spread. A vaccine exists for YF, but the sheer size of Brazil coupled with vaccine shortages mean that widespread inoculation in remote regions could take years.

Meanwhile, topical repellents are largely unattainable and unaffordable in the Amazon, a natural mosquito breeding ground containing half of the planet’s rainforests. We approached our client Ananse, a leading chemical company that develops high tech coatings and sealants for consumer products, with an idea to develop a new form of mosquito protection to aid the country’s most vulnerable.