Results and Effectiveness

The young women who participated in the campaign were able to experience being part of the brand by having their own faces become the brand logo. In other words, we succeeded in having them feel that Coppertone was their brand. The Cinderella story of an ordinary girl turning into the 'face' of a major brand captured the imagination of young women all over Japan. Over 700,000 young women participated in the campaign. Coppertone sales rose 69.3% over the previous year.

Creative Execution

Coppertone has a very popular illustrated 'Little Girl and Dog' logo. Our creative idea was to photograph consumers and use them in the brand logo. On the internet, we invited young women in the target group across the country to become Coppertone girls. We also scouted the streets of fashionable parts of Tokyo. Of the 3,000-plus candidates, 38 were selected in auditions. Their photographs were used in posters, which 'city-jacked' poster space in Tokyo. Even those not selected were able to send in headshots and see themselves as the Coppertone girl on the campaign web site.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

In 2007, Coppertone's share of the UV skin care product market in Japan stood at 2%. To increase sales in summer 2008, we developed a strategy to improve brand awareness dramatically via a campaign that would have an impact with young women in their teens and 20s. The reasons for selecting this target were twofold: 1) This group had the greatest potential for UV skin care product use, since they spend a lot of time outdoors and are not afraid of summer sun. 2) They are the most effective group for spreading news of interesting advertising through word of mouth.