2010 Winners & Shortlists

SHOW OF WHITE

Bronze
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BrandPERSIL
Product/ServicePERSIL WHITE
EntrantOMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryBest Use of Standard Outdoor
Entrant Company:OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement:OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Credits

Results and Effectiveness

By incorporating a ‘live’ element into the outdoor site, we breathed life into a traditional (and somewhat restrictive) format by innovatively demonstrating the brands product attributes in an impactful way. As a media first in the Middle-East, the execution was talked about a great deal on radio, in print and online - generating extensive PR and exposure for the brand. More importantly, each day around 75,000 commuters on Sheikh-Zayed Road were exposed to this intriguing piece of outdoor. With such a high number of travellers this gave Persil White a cost efficient CPM of $10.3.

Creative Execution

Central to our brief was using a regular hording on Dubai’s busiest highway – Sheikh-Zayed Road. By itself, the hording was unlikely to create the desired buzz/talkability for Persil White. Therefore, we injected some creativity into this age-old format by putting on a ‘show of white’. Firstly, we added a special build to the hording by placing a giant ‘Thobe’ onto the execution. Then, to amplify Persil’s ‘whiteness’ credentials we called upon the services of 4 painters, arming them with branded overalls, white paint, brushes, and ladders. During peak traffic periods, the team would then communicate Persil’s whiteness power by painting the giant Thobe white! To demonstrate the brand’s ability to maintain a Thobe’s whiteness (wash-after-wash), they would then reappear day-after-day to repaint the Thobe with a fresh coat of white – heightening intrigue amongst daily commuters. We also used time-based takeovers online in a similar vein to support.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

For 100 years, Persil has been synonymous with providing clean and crisp laundry, the World over. However, in the Middle-East (and particularly the UAE) it’s a relative newcomer with just 5% share of the detergents market. Unable to compete with established competitors on media spend; Persil’s strategy has been to focus on NPD. One such success story has been the launch of ‘Persil Abaya Shampoo’, a specialized product for washing black Abaya’s (traditional black Khaleeji wear). From women to men, our challenge was to support the brand’s latest NPD initiative ‘Persil White’, a liquid detergent for Men’s Khaleeji wear – the white ‘Thobe’. Research told us 75% of consumers mix competitor detergents with household bleach because they aren’t strong enough to maintain whiteness. We identified this simple insight as an opportunity to instill confidence and change perceptions by highlighting Persil White’s scientifically-proven power (opti-bright technology) to keep whites white, wash-after-wash.

Credits

Name Company Role
Farah Moumneh OMD Manager