BACKGROUND

For people living with Alzheimer’s, reminiscence therapy can be a powerful tool. Enjoying nostalgic photos, videos and music from the past with a carer, can elicit positive responses, create conversations and improve both the wellbeing of the patient and the carer. The Wayback VR takes this reminiscence therapy to all new levels. Proven to evoke stronger emotional reactions than 2D, The Wayback app is series of bespoke 360 degree films that immerse the viewer in the faithfully recreated sights and sounds of the past, using a simple Cardboard headset and a mobile phone. And it’s working.

During its development it has been recognised widely in the care industry as a breakthrough piece of technology and was awarded the Government’s ‘Challenge Dementia’ prize, supported by the Alzheimer’s Society.

THE BIG IDEA

The Wayback’s immersive films are such a personal experience for the viewer that it can be difficult to demonstrate to a wider audience. But with 1 million people now living with Alzheimer’s in the UK, we needed to introduce the idea of reminiscence therapy to the those of us caring for a loved one with the disease.

So we decided to take millions of Londoners on their own unique journey back in time. Using the new, London Underground escalator-length digital ribbon screens as they’ve never been used before, we turned the everyday commute into an immersive experience that everyone could enjoy.

Faithfully recreating the fashions, hairstyles and even the underground ads and evening newspapers of the day, we enabled commuters to ride alongside their counterparts from the 1960’s.

With our actors from the past looking directly back at our modern day commuters - tipping their hats, waving and smiling – a simple escalator ride turned into a brief moment of entertainment for all.

As a simple headline made the point that, ‘FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER’S, SOMETIMES THE BEST WAY FORWARD IS TO GO WAYBACK.’

MAKING IT HAPPEN

In collaboration with TFL and Global, we quickly decided that the most authentic way to turn the digital ribbons into a window to the past, was to film our sixties commuters on a disused London Underground escalator.

In the Wayback films, every detail is a potential memory trigger. So we were determined that our Stairway into the Past would have the same attention to detail.

With extensive research into the fashions of the mid-sixties, we made sure every one of our actors looked just like they were peering back at us from the past. Including sourcing the newspapers they would have been reading and the ads that they would have been passing. This was the first time a film had been specifically shot to run the length of the escalator – and involved an incredible amount of planning and post-production ensured the final result was as engaging as possible to every commuter that would be riding alongside it.

RESULTS

10 x Increase daily visits to the website

>3000 people engaging with the films