Sounds. They can be soothing, triggering, satisfying or even alarming. The sheer range of emotions that sound can elicit makes it a powerful mode of communication. Here are four healthcare marketing campaigns that use sound in novel ways.

Beware of what you share
Sanofi

This one’s kind of gross — which is why I love it so much. Students living in close quarters on college campuses share a lot: bathrooms, toothbrushes, peanut butter, saliva and more. In short: Eww. What they don’t realize is they might also be sharing the germs that cause meningococcal disease. To raise awareness of this dangerous reality, Sanofi launched a social campaign that tapped into this audience’s obsession with ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). But instead of sounds that soothe, Sanofi used disruptive ones, such as slurping and licking, to stop listeners in their tracks. Those sounds were paired with colorful illustrative animations emphasizing how gross — and, ultimately, dangerous — their “sharing” can be. I still can’t get the sound of swapping spit out of my head.

Unfear
Samsung

For people living with autism, sounds of all kinds can be debilitating. Their sound sensitivity, known as hyperacusis, can prompt fear, anxiety and self-isolation. To combat this, Samsung created a tool that gives these individuals control over sound. The company paired earbud hardware with selective noise-modulating, AI-backed software to help people living with autism combat the sensory overload wherever and whenever they need it most.

The Most Beautiful Sound
ASCO

“You have cancer” is one of the most dreaded phrases in the English language — and almost one out of every two people alive today will hear it during their lifetime. Luckily, with advancements in treatment, that phrase isn’t the seeming death sentence it was once considered. Instead, cancer cells are the ones dying at a much more rapid pace. ASCO brought that insight to life by capturing the sounds of cancer cells during the precise moments they were killed off, creating an open-source sound therapy tool for individuals undergoing cancer treatment. A sound that can help patients find hope and optimism during an incredibly stressful and frightening time in their lives — what an inspiring sound to hear.

I Will Always Be Me
Dell Technologies, Intel and MND Association

A loved one’s voice is one of our most treasured sounds, but individuals diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) may lose their ability to speak as the condition progresses. The loss of verbal communication is, clearly, a heartbreaking reality for patients and their loved ones. Because “banking a voice” is a drawn-out and tedious process that takes precious time away from these patients, Dell and its partners set out to create a streamlined voice-banking platform that can be completed in fewer than 30 minutes. The technology lets patients continue to use their voices to communicate well after their ability to speak is taken away. It’s a priceless contribution to a community in need.

Sole Music
Anghami

While we all experience music differently, its impact is universally inspiring. So how might your life be different if you weren’t able to listen to music? This silence is a reality for the one in 20 people who are hearing-impaired. To bring music into their lives, Anghami created an insole that allows users to feel the rhythm of music through tactile vibrations on the soles of their feet. You can find playlists created for this campaign on Spotify, plus there is a short documentary showcasing the deaf dancer Pierre Geagea experiencing Sole Music for the first time.