After spending our entire careers working on advertising and marketing campaigns across multiple product categories, we get triggered when we see exciting work. One part of our reaction is as everyday consumers and another voice we hear comes from the Brand Manager inside us.
The new Colgate Strong Teeth toothpaste ad that has just gone on air represents an interesting departure from the brand’s usual advertising format and is an outright winner.
That’s the consumer and Brand Manager in us saying the same thing.
Communication Objectives: As the long-term market leader in oral care, Colgate has worked diligently to strengthen their credentials and become the most widely known and respected brand for dental care. From a business standpoint the new ad serves two objectives: On the one hand it aims to reassure existing users that they have made the right choice and are in good hands. Equally, the ad also targets consumers who may have switched away from Colgate and seeks to bring them back into the fold, through a somewhat new take on their core proposition of strong teeth.
The ad depicts a toothless granny, literally, who looks into camera and says, “I only buy new Colgate Strong Teeth” in response to which an off-camera voice asks, “But granny, of what use is this to you?”. Her response is “This is what gives nutrition to my cutting machine” following which we see her granddaughter who proceeds to use her strong teeth to strip a sugar cane, tear open a sealed pack of snacks and generally make herself useful to her granny. The ad goes on to claim that Colgate Strong Teeth toothpaste gives nutrition to teeth and makes them strong and ends with the signoff “…not just a toothpaste, but nutrition for the teeth”.
Target Audience: The ad stays in familiar territory by targeting children, their core audience for the longest time ever. This stems from a common concern that parents have about cavities, to which kids are prone because of a diet loaded with sweets and sugary foods. The proposition comes to life in the ad with the granddaughter literally doing a live demonstration of her strong teeth.
Proposition: What we found interesting is Colgate’s appropriation of the concept of “nutrition” for teeth. This raises the bar versus competition and will appeal to worried parents. It also provides new news about the brand, which is another element making the campaign attention worthy.
Creative Idea: What makes the new ad stand out is the humorous execution style, snappy and exaggerated voice over and music, and just the whole idea of a grandmother who has lost all her teeth being centre stage in a commercial for a toothpaste. The script is witty, and the granny is quite the character, almost demanding our attention.
Brand Integration: The unique execution style has cleverly integrated the brand into the film making it unmistakeably, though unbelievably (in a good way), Colgate.
A real problem that advertisers face today, is the competition for the consumer’s attention. With unlimited stimulus in a hyper-connected world, brands don’t get even a few, uninterrupted seconds to tell their story. A well-known brand like Colgate has the benefit of its solid legacy, though therein lies the rub. Most people like you and I might pay scant attention to another message from a brand that is a part of our daily routine and with which we are so familiar. What could Colgate possibly say that we haven’t heard already? I’m buying this brand regularly, so why do I need to listen to another pitch from them? These questions may subconsciously screen out ads and messages that appear all too familiar.
Cut Through & Memorability: By going with a quirky format, Colgate has scored a home run. We enjoyed watching this commercial, it made us laugh out loud and some of the messages have stuck in the mind. This ad is more memorable than another “man in a white coat” ad from the big boss of cavities.
Campaign or one off: We do believe that this ad could be the first in a series of ads that memorably use quirky and fun situations to build out the nutrition for strong teeth proposition. This may energize and animate a relatively stable and serious brand equity without compromising the oral care credentials and trust. The brand team may also choose to run the more traditional “white coat” ads alongside those using the new approach, effectively driving future growth.
If we were Colgate’s Professor of Marketing and Advertising (purely hypothetical and pardon our being presumptuous) the ad would have got a 9 on 10 in the final exam.
One last thought: This communication strategy works for Colgate precisely because the brand is so mainstream and has been there and done that, everything really, multiple times over. A new brand that is yet to establish its credentials would need a different approach to put down roots in our minds. The tricky issue with humour in ads is that sometimes the commercials are watchable, but the key benefits and propositions get lost in the fun and games.
Advertising!! Part art and part science. Never sure which part is which.
Excellent observation. The route through children and the association of indulging grand maa instead of strict lecture giving mother is interestingly different and mind catching. The subtle use of the Nutrition to teeth will make other ads little boring which only talk about cavity, sensitivity etc. Colgate has taken the road less covered.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.