Norovirus, or the ‘winter vomiting bug,’ is highly virulent.

A vaccine to combat the virus does not exist today and the virus cannot be killed by using hand gel alone. However, vigorous hand washing with soap for 20 seconds, as directed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control, is highly effective in preventing infection.

People are not aware of this fact. So Zantiis, an organic skincare brand, and Dentsu One (Bangkok) developed Clean Light Hand Soap, a soap bar that flashes for 20 seconds.

This blinking soap bar started a buzz on social media and got people talking about how long they clean their hands. Zantiis posted a video on its Facebook site to demonstrate effective hand washing, which boosted the site’s engagement rate by 1700%. The soap bar was used as a health education tool in schools and promoted in shopping malls in Thailand. This simple and effective product was one of seven pieces of work shortlisted at the National Design Innovation Contest.