Rena Nickerson is a major CPG expert and industry leader in Toronto, so it was great to chat with her about leadership and mentorship.
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CPG
I still remember how excited Unilever’s team was when they announced that Axe was going to send some lucky guys to space. My peers shared their enthusiasm when we watched a teaser video together at Queen’s University in 2013, but that was the last time I really thought about the brand.
Axe just released a new ad that challenges common stereotypes about young men, which I love. This video makes me rethink what Axe stands for and I admire how it has the power to change consumers’ views about gender. In a way, this ad is long overdue. It’s 2017! Of course it’s ok for guys to wear pink (and not just on Wednesdays). So what if a boy doesn’t like sports?
I wish Axe didn’t have to include a question about depression because it should be obvious by now that guys have mental health issues too. The best article I read on Bell Let’s Talk Day was written by a local male marketer and that was one of many stories.
“The Name Generator”
Goal: Encourage consumers to use Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care* Bathroom Tissue and Cottonelle Fresh Care* Flushable Wipes, as part of a personal hygiene routine, which supposedly needs a cheeky name.
How It Works:
To enter contest, entrants submit name suggestions for the routine. The names are then voted on and the highest voted names are added to “The Book of Names.” How unncessary clever.
Otherwise uninspired entrants can develop an idea using 1 of 3 tools in the Cottonelle Facebook app:
The Randomizer: Simply click to get a name instantly
The Personalizer: Answer a few questions for a personalized name
The Customizer: Create a name to add to our Book of Names and enter for a chance to win a year’s supply of Cottonelle products.
How It Fails To Impress:
– Supplies and information provided to mommy bloggers to create sponsored posts led to bland content.
– The white text on the aqua blue background is unclear, while the rest of the site is nothing special.
– The commercial (where I first learned about it) is super cheesy. How many families discuss toilet paper while standing in the kitchen? Yuck. It really irks me when people don’t think of social context.
Personally, I’m still amazed that Secret has acquired over a million Facebook fans. As an example of Cottonelle trying to compete with other personal hygiene brands for online engagement, let’s hope they spend more time at the drawing board for their next campaign.
Cottonelle’s Name Generator app is one of the cheesiest advertising ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Personal purchases aside, I prefer toilet paper commercials featuring cuddly bears and cozy robes.
Consider this for a mini competitive analysis:
Charmin promoted another routine by featuring the Old Spice guy, and their video received close to 2 million views.
How I Imagine the Brainstorm Session:
Manager: “Let’s create a campaign that can be promoted through both traditional and social media.”
Intern: “I got it! We’ll create a name generator that has our audience sharing stories, interacting with us on Facebook and using more toilet paper.”
Manager: “I love it. Who should star in the commercial for it?”
Intern: “There has to be a teenage girl texting. That’s a must.”
Manager: “Ok, great. I’ll share those brilliant ideas with our agency who can whip together a new splash page, Facebook app and TV spot.”
Intern: “Sweet. When it’s all done, we should share it with top mommy bloggers. They’ll dig it.”
[2025 Update: The YouTube video of the commercial is no longer available.]