THE EVERYDAY SOLDIER MOVEMENT

Short List
TitleTHE EVERYDAY SOLDIER MOVEMENT
BrandP&G
Product / ServiceGILLETTE FUSION
CategoryC01. Integrated Media Campaign
EntrantBBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:BBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Advertising Agency:BBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Media Agency:MEDIACOM Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Josy Paul BBDO India Chairman/Chief Creative Officer
Rajdeepak Das BBDO India Executive Creative Director
Sandeep Sawant/Josy Paul/Rajdeepak Das BBDO India Creative Director
Josy Paul/Vikrant Yadav/Yohan Daver/Pashyn Sethna/Arzan Antia/Rajdeepak Das/Das/Sandeep Sawant/Ravi Shanker/Manasi Sankhe BBDO India Copywriter
Sandeep Sawant/Ravi Shanker/Rajdeepak Das/Manasi Sankhe/Josy Paul/Vikrant Yadav/Yohan Daver/Pashyn Sethna/Arzan Antia BBDO India Art Director
Keegan D'mello/Akanksha Saxena BBDO India Account Management
Nick Taylor Luscious Films Director
Andrew Morris/Warren Keuning/Kirk Jacob Producer
Rajeev Mohite BBDO India Editor
Mahesh Khatate/Yogesh Wadkar Photographer
Rhea D'souza/Amanda Mendonza/Arathi Menon Weber Shandwick
Sharmistha Gupta/Prashant Desai/Jake Joss/Natasha Kapoor/Preeti Yadav Mediacom
Kiran Dodiya/Shyam Gursahani Encompass
Dominic Fernandes/Clifford Jairaj/Kamal Dodhia Grips Proevents
Clinton Cerejo/Keegan D'mello Music
Hitesh Shah/Shankar Yelugu/Sameet Koyande BBDO India Retouch Artist
Vinay Kurade/Bharat Lakhani Retouch Artist
Mitesh Kothari Watconsult

Results and Effectiveness

The campaign got over $4.3 million worth of free editorial coverage. 50 television channels and 100 publications covered the action. More than 6 million new consumers joined the Gillette franchise. Over 731 million digital impressions. 1.2 million Indians physically participated in the petition. Razor sales grew by 220% to 12.4 million razors in less than 3 months. All key equities grew by +14 points. The Gateway Of India became the medium for the movement.

Creative Execution

We started with the quest to find the true embodiment of an ideal man and launched a Nielsen survey, where Courage, Camaraderie, Integrity, Discipline and Grooming emerged as the hallmarks of an Everyday Soldier. We created media innovation by camouflaging a leading national newspaper to commemorate the valiant citizens who fought the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. We screened our Cinema TVC just after the National Anthem- a first in India. Airport branding, Radio activation, RJ mentions and Activations in Malls were some of the tools that created buzz. We bathed the Gateway of India in Camouflage colors and held a week long activity in honor of the Everyday Soldier which was amplified across media with celebrities stepping up to voice their support. We also launched 'The People's Movement', which sought the approval from the President of India to re-dedicate 'The Gateway of India' to the real soldiers of the nation.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Gillette had always been communicating functional benefits around technological superiority of their 3 blades/ 5 blades. People believed it was a good product, however emotional connect with the brand was low. It wasn't seen as a 'brand for me'. We wanted to create an emotional bond with the Gillette brand. Our strategy was to inspire Indian men by bringing alive the spirit of the Everyday Soldier within each Indian. We identified 5 values-Courage, Camaraderie, Integrity, Discipline and Grooming as the values that personify an Everyday Soldier, this was amplified across media, through a debate on National TV and innovative use of media. We urged Indians to imbibe these values in their lives and share stories of Everyday Soldiers they know or have come across in real life. As a tribute, Gillette launched the 'Soldier range of products', and felicitated these real Soldiers by knighting them with a 'Blade of Honor.'