‘Jingle Therapy’ Helps Puerto Ricans with Alzheimer’s to Remember

For decades advertising jingles have held a special place in pop culture. A time stamp to be remembered – stuck in our hearts and in our heads. What if we can bring those with memory loss back to that collective moment in time?

Well that’s what the Puerto Rican Alzheimer’s Association did in collaboration with the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) radio stations. Led by VMLY&R Commerce, to help support the almost 100,000 people living with Alzheimer’s on the island, the SBS’s 80-year archive was turned into a non-pharmacological, therapy to help improve the lives of patients living with this memory disorder.

The insight – studies have shown that for those in the middle-stages of Alzheimer’s, music from their past can reduce agitation and outbursts, whilst improving overall mood. By tapping into the collective nostalgia of the most famous advertising jingles of Puerto Rico’s past, VMLY&R Commerce created a palliative therapy for patients to bring back positive memories, remind them of their youth, and help soothe them during harder times. These songs designed to never be forgotten work as an immediate time machine for those who long to remember. To make sure each person could experience their happiest times, caregivers could create personalised jingle playlists based on their patient’s birthdate and integrate them each day as part of their care-plan.

In less than two months since launch, Jingle Therapy has reached over 600 patients, accumulating over 50,000 hours of therapy with life changing results. The effect on cognitive measures was significant after only four Jingle Therapy sessions – with improvement observed in memory, orientation, depression and anxiety in both mild (NPI scale) and moderate (HAD scale) cases. It also has shown to help with delirium, hallucinations, agitation, irritability, and language disorders in the group with moderate Alzheimer’s Disorder. And it quickly has scaled across Puerto Rico, with 12 partnerships forged with health institutions to ensure Jingle Therapy was elevated as regular therapy for Alzheimer’s patients on the island. 

Juan “Tony” Salgado, executive director, Puerto Rican Alzheimer Association said: "Jingle Therapy is a demonstration of our purpose. It improves the lives of those battling Alzheimer's and their loved ones, by changing their mood and giving them strength to keep on fighting.”

Juan Carlos Pederia, digital strategic director, Spanish Broadcasting System said: “As technology evolves and the boundaries of all media intersect among new and as yet unexplored frontiers, SBS intends to exploit its proprietary content to improve people's life through music.”