So I’m kind of a sucker for poignant creative. And the P&G Olympics spot certainly was poignant.
But you know what I’m really a sucker for? Brilliant business strategy.
Clearly P&G is making a play to increase usage of its family of brands via appealing to loyalists of its individual brands. Trying to inject meaning into the name “Proctor and Gamble” among an audience that has never known it yet has likely purchased many its products over the year is no small feat. And they certainly did a nice job with the spot below, aligning P&G with moms, who certainly do the bulk of packaged good buying.
But if you’re questioning my “brilliant business strategy” comment, hang tight because here it comes. Driving in my car during the Olympics, having just seen the spot in the opening ceremonies, I hear a commercial for my local drugstore. It’s a typical :60 for the drugstore chain but it was the tag that caught my attention. It offered a cash gift card earned simply by purchasing 10 P&G products.
Now the radio spot was not a P&G branded spot. It had no connection to the Olympic spot I had seen, no mention of moms. But it made the strategy clear – first we’ll tell you that we actually own all these brands you buy or consider buying everyday and then we’ll incentivize you to actually buy them.
Taking an idea and executing it at every level, beyond the TV, the print, and the campaign website to a generic retail mechanism, recognizing that it’s the idea, not the creative execution, that makes it all work. Simple. Brilliant. Effective.
Love the strategy. Love the execution. And love the little kid shaving in the spot - that kills me every time.
Just my two pennies.
