About 2 years ago I was speaking at a Gamifiers event in London. One of the other speakers spoke about a new product called “Playbrush”. It was an add-on for a toothbrush that allowed it to interact with a mobile device like an iPad. As well as the add-on, there were a couple of games that it controlled on the mobile device. The idea was to encourage kids to brush for longer and with higher efficiency because they want to progress in the games.
It is fair to say the idea got mauled by us all. I hold my hand up as one of the maulers. I had several issues with the idea of a parent. The first was the concept of having to have my iPad in the bathroom with the kids. After that, it was the idea of getting kids to clean their teeth because it let them play a game. I could not see how that activity could convert into a permanent behaviour if when you took the game element away.