Music for Dementia’s Christmas ad unlocks music for sufferers

While high-budget Christmas campaigns like John Lewis celebrate the power of music, a new, powerfully poignant film from Music for Dementia highlights the crucial audience that often gets left behind: families impacted by dementia. Shot on a shoestring budget in just ten days, the ad uses friends and family as cast to demonstrate how music can bridge generational gaps and combat technological barriers.



The short film opens with an older woman struggling with outdated and complex technology, even contemplating inserting CDs into a toaster. The moment of connection arrives when her six-year-old granddaughter, Aria Wheele, hands her a children’s Yoto Player. With the simple insertion of a card, the intuitive, screen-free device instantly tunes her into m4dRADIO, a station offering non-stop music tailored for people living with dementia. The result is an immediate, joyful moment of shared connection across three generations.

“We’re mindful that the people that need music the most often find it hardest to listen to because of barriers with technology,” explains Amy Shackleton, Project Lead at Music for Dementia. Recent research supports this, revealing that only three in ten older family carers are able to stream music with their loved one.

The charity's Music Made Easy campaign found that children’s technology offers the ideal solution: screen-free, tactile, and simple. A pilot trial using the Yoto Player with 180 families saw an 80% increase in the amount of music listened to.

Following this success, Music for Dementia is now giving away 500 free Yoto kits to families affected by dementia, allowing them to access the six non-stop music channels easily. As Dom Hodge of Yoto notes, the film "perfectly highlights how simple, accessible tech can break down barriers and bring joy to families through the universal power of music." With 940,000 people living with dementia in the UK, the campaign serves as a vital reminder that accessible music can manage symptoms, spark memories, and create moments of joy.