The Campaign

We used the city itself, as an advertising canvas, to highlight the urban threats to a man’s face. We identified areas in the city and moments that cause haggard-looking skin: from bus stops, to train stations, and even working overtime in the office. Then through an integrated multi-channel execution, we delivered purposive, disruptive, and contextual messages right when the men were feeling the most haggard.

Creative Execution

Using The City As Our Advertising Canvas Several channels in the city were carefully chosen to communicate to these haggard men. These conveyed a customized message per platform, intending to be within context to the men’s situations. Amplifying The Message Online A bus stop had the seemingly static print ad featuring Filipino celebrity, Xian Lim, in the middle of Manila’s busiest avenue. It was programmed to react to haggard moments, surprising men waiting for the bus. These were captured on film amplified digitally for massive reach and engagement. Engaging Users With Haggard Digital Body Language On Facebook, all messages were in context. “Traffic” messaging appeared only during rush hour and “overtime” messaging after-office hours. On Twitter, Pond’s Men responded with #GetEnergized tips to men who tweeted haggard-related keywords. On Waze, a banner appeared while users were stuck in heavy traffic to remind men to use Pond’s Men to feel energized.

The bus stop video amassed over 2.1M views, 4,000 shares and over 1,000 comments from Filipino men. Online presence is massive at more than 100M combined paid and organic impressions. The online video helped take the energizing experience to over 6M Filipino men, through thumb-stopping content. Digital along with on-ground efforts drove a 50% sales growth, hitting the 2015 brand ambition in only 10 months. Also, Pond’s Men was able to own the must-win attributes “energizes your skin” and “expert solutions for men” and overtook the competitors in terms of the Brand Health. This made Pond’s Men the second biggest brand in Men Face Care with 500bps increase in market share, even if it launched in the market only in 2014. While Pond’s Men helped Filipino Men Beat The City, it also beat the competition.

This campaign aimed to educate its target about Pond's Men's energizing benefit and how it can help them beat the haggard effects of the city. Given this, we identified the mindset during the time our target market is more open to the Pond's Men’s proposition—which was when they were feeling most haggard. Then we selected the relevant channels that provided this context and delivered a customized message according to the men's situation.

Filipino men believe that looking good can give them the edge they need in the workplace. However, city life impedes their quest for success. In the Philippines, cities are notoriously stressful for traffic, heat, and pollution. Metro Manila was declared to have the worst traffic on earth. And while commuters are stuck on the road to catch public transportation, they are also exposed to the worsening air quality. These stressful elements are part of working men’s daily commute, which can leave them feeling and looking haggard. Pond's Men saw this as a way to connect with the men, as it is the facial wash that has the energizing benefit that can help them beat the haggard effects of the city.