Hidden Sugar Receipt
Colgate-Palmolive
Issue 36 | September 2015
Agency
Red Fuse Communications [Y&R]
Creative Team
Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Shen Guan Tan Regional Associate Creative Director Chew Shing Sian Regional Creative Director Sly Song Senior Copywriter Kenny Mar
Production Team
Associate Creative Directors Kelvin Kwan, Kenward Ng Senior Art Director Issac Ku Art Director Cyclone Lai
Date
April 2015
Background
To support the launch of their new sugar acid neutraliser toothpaste, Colgate wanted to educate shoppers on the real threat to their teeth from the surprising amounts of sugar that could be found in everyday foods.
Idea
By scanning the packaging of all the popular foods to be found in a typical supermarket, Colgate created a database of products and the amount of sugar they contained. This was combined with the POS software of a retailer so that the sugar content of every purchased item was captured and displayed on the till receipt.
The money-off coupon for Colgate toothpaste was linked directly to the total level of sugar in the shopper's basket. More sugar, more discount.
Results
As this was a pilot, the results were not made available. However, Colgate saw the potential of the idea and began investigating how to adapt this campaign for a wider roll-out.
Our Thoughts
In 2011, a brilliant campaign for Homeplus supermarkets won the Media Grand Prix. Posters, laid out like supermarket shelves, allowed commuters to scan the images of the goods they needed, buy them through their smartphones there and then and have them delivered that evening. It turned out to be closer to scam than to a real campaign. But it influenced shopper marketing dramatically. And I feel this is a similar idea. Something of a test but one which will excite many about the possibilities of the till receipt as a medium to both educate and entice.
It won a Bronze in Creative Data, deserved Gold in Promo and Activation.