Barnardo's launches e-baby

 

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Posted on 17 Sep 2001 at 17:23

It's a little baby. Measuring less than an inch, it's an interactive screen mate launched into the world by the Barnardo's children's charity.

As guardian of the electronic infant, which was created by advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, you have to pay attention to the little one's demands.

The more serious message behind the frivolity - yes, we know this is not hard news from the technology sector - is to remind people of Barnado's work with disadvantaged children.

"Every day we see the stresses and strains on parents, especially those living in poverty or facing other difficult circumstances," states Andrew Nebel, Barnardo's UK Director of Marketing and Communications. "We hope that e-baby will remind people of Barnardo's services for disadvantaged children and young people, and that they will be encouraged to make a donation to support the work that does not receive funding from other sources."

One of the sponsors of e-baby, Foresters, will match online donations, pound for pound, up to a total of £30,000.

For those interested in the responsibilities of this particular form of parentship, you handle the e-baby by selecting from the right-click menu options for actions such as tickle, feed, chat, burp or reprimand.

If you make the right choice, e-baby continues playing, if you make the wrong one - or, heaven forfend, you ignore e-baby - then a colour-based mood indicator pops up on your screen to highlight the problem.

At the end of the game you'll be given a score for how well you met the demands of the digital toddler, before being invited make a donation to Barnardo's and to send e-baby on to a friend.

For those of you who don't want to neglect your career for the sake of your e-baby, you can take baby to an e-cr - che or nominate another babysitter to take over your responsibilities. Just turning off the speakers is not an option.

Author: Alun Williams