Sunsilk – Get Some Hairapy
As a first case study, I’m going to take a look at Sunsilk, a Unilever shampoo that was launched in the US for the first time in mid-2006. The brand itself is available in many markets and although there is some consistency in advertising the approaches taken in various markets are different. I’m going to focus on the US launch – with a disclaimer that I worked on this project.
Around the world, the message is the same – there’s a different Sunsilk product for your different hairtype and by using the three products in the range you can really make a difference. You can see the impact of regionlised agencies, as all of the european sites are the same framework and creative, with differences seen in Australia, India and Canada. And the US, which, online at least, moves away from being a pure product information ad towards entertainment.
Spread across multiple media, let’s take a look at the touch-points.
TV: The TV ads focus on the product, with two types of executions. The first, following girls as they try and solve their hair issues out on the street has a commentary by Mario Cantone. The second execution is animation (again with the celebrity voice-over), tackling each problem with a funny line.
Print/Inserts/samplecards: the illustration/animation theme continues into print, sample cards, direct mail executions, posters etc. With one liners such as ‘your hair’s split like a Hollywood marriage’ and ‘your hair’s limper than my boyfriend after a few drinks’, they invoke a laugh about the problem and provide a solution. The theme is carried on in-store.
Online ads: they follow the same creative line from the animations and pulling in the website creative. They all drive to the website and usually contain a strong call to action to get a sample of the product.
Website: all the advertising has a strong push for the website – gethairapy.com. Here you can meet the online spokesmen for the brand, the Hairapy Guys, three ‘gay guy girlfriends’ that are here to help you find the best product and give you a laugh. Through extensive video interaction you can get to know the guys and be introduced to the brand. They bring the brand to life and can be found across the web and TV. There’s a blog, updated regularly, film reviews on Hollywood.com, MySpace pages, spots on TV shows, live monthly online chats.
Sponsored content: Sunsilk also sponsor short-form films on TBS – Lovebites. Tailed with a short brand message, the brand itself only appears once in the 80 or so episodes. As well as the broadcast shows, there were a few made specifically for retailers, shown only instore and a few that can only be found on the web.
You’ve also got to throw in PR, emails, direct mailing, radio, more outdoor and promotional activities. The only thing missing is mobile.
This was the largest brand launch by Unilever US in its history; multiple touch-points to hit the media-savvy 18-35yo woman not just by pure advertising and brand messaging but also providing entertainment. But not everyone has that budget, but there are still lessons to be learnt.
- multiple touchpoints with co-ordinated creative. With so many agencies working on large campaigns, it can be too easy for each set to develop their own execution for each channel. Keep the similarity, keep the recognition.
- Look for ways to reuse content across channels – the same image can be a print ad, an aim icon and a wallpaper. Videos can be used across many sites and given away for download to mobile devices.
- Give your partners content. Film reviews, TV pieces, magazine articles. Make something different.
- talk to your customers/clients/users. the feedback that is got from the blog, myspace and livechat goes a long way to demonstrating directly how much the brand is liked. Responding back to the fans can only build that love.
