People living with dementia use filler sounds like “ehm” up to three times more than others. While most people recognise these pauses as moments of thinking or hesitation, they never consider the lasting feeling where an answer doesn’t come.

We used the “ehm…” as our creative entry point, building an anticipation that never resolves. The unfinished narrative mirrored the silence and disorientation that dementia leaves behind.  

With a 15-second radio spot centred on a single unresolved “ehm…”, social executions where the word remains stuck in transit, and an interactive card game that lets audiences experience the insight themselves;

“Wat als na de ‘ehm..’ niks meer komt? Stop Dementie.”
(What if nothing comes after the “ehm..”? Stop Dementia.)