2019 Winners & Shortlists

LAUNDRY SHOCK

BrandUNILEVER LEBANON
Product/ServiceOMO
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryFast Moving Consumer Goods
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production MAGNET CONNECT Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The OMO Shock promo campaign was a breath of fresh air in the saturated laundry detergent category. With zero budget we created an engaging guerrilla stunt to convey our core message of efficiency when it comes to stain removal. We surprised our audience with fun “stain” stickers and built credibility for our brand using a simple media channel never-used before: by customizing the delivery plastic cover from their beloved dry-cleaning company. We didn’t wait for them to consider us, we went to meet them at home and engaged with them on their doorsteps.

Background

A REGION RULED BY HISTORICAL BRANDS Since its launch in the region OMO has always been behind, competing with well-established and historical brands approved by moms and their moms’ moms. OMO kept launching new innovations but the brand never really found its rightful place in the laundry rooms across the region. OMO, A BRAND FOR MESSY KIDS While the brand OMO reached international fame for their clever line statement “dirt is good”, the claim never resonated with the millennials of this region. The picky millennial tribe believing that the brand was solely targeting moms and their adventurous kids while they were looking to be taken seriously with a message tailored for them and their lifestyle. OMO was done passively begging for attention. We took a step back and decided to remind this audience what OMO was originally famous for: Effective and effortless stain removal.

Describe the creative idea.

Knowing that our audience had no interest in learning about new laundry detergent options, we knew we had to convince them of our product’s benefits by entering their life in an unexpected way. ATTACKING THEIR “PRECIOUS” In order for them to pay attention and register our message about effective stain removal on all clothes, we decided to hit where it hurts the most when it comes to removing difficult stains: their favourite garments and clothes. CREATE A NEW MEDIUM THAT EMBODIES OUR MESSAGE We needed to communicate the ease of removing difficult stains with the OMO products. To do so, we used a brand-new medium: the dry cleaner plastic cover. We added stain stickers to the covers before delivering the clothes back. First shocked by the vision of the stain on their freshly cleaned clothes, our target audience could easily remove the problem by removing the plastic cover.

Describe the strategy.

Your laundry detergent choice is not something that you question on a daily basis, especially if you are using the brand recommended by your mom. We needed to find the Achille’s heel of our millennial audience to deliver our message around effective stain removal. YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR The Lebanese society is built on life outside of home and social gatherings which puts a constant pressure on people when it comes to their appearance. It is even more true with the millennial population who tends to use their styling as a way to showcase their fortune and success. You can see them in cafés and parties proudly wearing their Dior shirts and Chanel jackets as a badge of success. We needed to prove that OMO is the most efficient and simple way to take care of their appearance on a day to day basis.

Describe the execution

PARTNERING WITH THE EXPERT OF STAIN REMOVAL IN LEBANON In order to have access to the people’s precious garments and put our 15,000+ stickers on them, we decided to partner with a dry-cleaning service company in Lebanon. But picking any dry-cleaning company was not enough. We needed scale. We needed to borrow the credibility of our partner in order to be taken seriously by our audience. That’s why we partnered with Pure Laundry Spa, the leading dry-cleaning company in Lebanon. TURNING THE FAKE NEWS INTO A REAL PROMOTION After discovering the fake stain stickers on their dry cleaner plastic cover and removing it, we surprised our audience a second time. The sticker was an actual 10% off coupon on all OMO products that they could redeem during the campaign period at our Pure Laundry Spa locations across Lebanon who carried our products for the occasion.

List the results.

INTRIGUED BY THE CAMPAIGN We surprised and intrigued our audience with our creative use of their dry-cleaning cover and made them clearly understand the ease of using OMO products. With 16% of coupons redeemed throughout the campaign, we outperformed our original KPI by 65%, THE BEGINNING OF A NEW MILLENNIAL LOVE FOR OMO Our campaign resonated with our audience who discovered a new and less infantilizing aspect of our brand, more tailored to their life. Beyond the promotional campaign period, a majority of the people who redeemed their coupons continued using us, asking Pure Laundry Spa to continue carrying our products. We ultimately got rid of their stains and found a place in their laundry closet.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Fouad Abdel Malak TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Manuel Borde TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Sandeep Fernandes TBWA\RAAD Creative Director
Mahesh Powar TBWA\RAAD Senior Art Director
Diana Georges TBWA\RAAD Lebanon Account Director
Natalia Abboud TBWA\RAAD Lebanon Managing Director
Romy Abdelnour TBWA\RAAD Corporate Communications Director
Hazem Atieh / Ezzat Habra TBWA\RAAD Creative Services Managers
Remie Abdo TBWA\RAAD Head of Planning
Maxime Menant TBWA\RAAD Senior Strategic Planner