Fecal
Reckitt Benckiser Health NZ
Issue 58 | March 2021
Agency
FCB New Zealand
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Tony Clewett Creative Directors Leisa Wall, Peter Vegas Creatives Emerson Hunt, Adam Redmond
Production Team
Creative Services Director Jenni Doubleday Content Capture Hive | FCB Head of Hive Lauren Watling
Other Credits
Head of PR, Activation & Social Angela Spain Social Senior Account Manager Lena Aziz Social Account Executive Tori Miller
Date
2020
Background
New Zealand was a cold wash country, which was good for the environment but not so good for hygiene. Scientists at Auckland University of Technology found an alarming amount of fecal bacteria on 78% of Kiwis’ freshly-washed clothes.
Fortunately, Dettol Laundry Sanitiser could remove 99.9% of that bacteria.
The challenge was to get Kiwi parents to learn the dirty truth about what their kids were actually wearing. If that was achievable, Dettol Laundry Sanitiser could be turned into an essential part of their routine.
Idea
The idea was to partner with Mummy influencers to introduce and promote a new fashion label called fe-Cál Kids. A website and social presence was even created for the brand to make it seem as authentic as possible.
Once enough of a conversation had built up, the mummy-influencers revealed the dirty secret. Every design was created using magnified e.coli that was already on their kids’ freshly-washed clothing.
Everyone who interacted with the campaign was retargeted and provided with the solution. Dettol Laundry Sanitiser, which removes 99.9% of bacteria from the wash, preventing kids from ever having to wear fe-Cál ever again.
Results
The reveal video reached 64% of households with kids and was watched 1.5 million times. Not bad for a population of just under 5 million.
It led to a 33% increase in sales in the first week, the best campaign performance Dettol has ever seen anywhere in the world.
Our Thoughts
The problem for Dettol here is getting mums and dads to recognise there is a problem. After all, they are doing everything right and are either likely to be suspicious of advertising telling them otherwise, or object strongly to it. Tone of voice is everything.
No parent wants to be told they’re doing a bad job. After all, we’re dealing here with shi*. So, working with influencers makes perfect sense as a strategy – to arouse interest before the shocking reveal. The irony of using magnified images of e-coli as the pattern on the clothes was not lost on mums. As they say, God is in the detail.