The Campaign

When Unilever's team of researchers studied the urban legend that "people who wear headgear tend to lose hair," their tests revealed that a hot, extremely humid environment that is similar to that of a tropical jungle lay under headgear. Unilever's CLEAR brand universally shared the facts and promoted the need to frequently and carefully wash hair after wearing a hat. It simultaneously announced a solution, the Save Our Scalps—Headgear Cover Plan. The campaign set people who wore hats on their jobs as the primary targets and established a support plan for their employers. Scalp care shampoo that was proportional in quantity to the duration of headgear usage was distributed.

Execution

Unilever worked with dermatologists and industry physicians to study changes in the environment under headgear. Research revealed that a hot, extremely humid environment that is similar to that of a tropical jungle lay under headgear. Unilever shared the academic news with the public before releasing the "A Salute to Headgear Warriors" video and "Save Our Scalps" music. The video and music promoted the brand's commitment to people who wear headgear on the job. At the same time, the brand established partnerships with the employers. Scalp care shampoo that was proportional in quantity to the duration of headgear usage was distributed. The effort became a solution for people who wore headgear while they worked. At the same time, the various advertising resources lifted awareness of the brand, as a scalp care shampoo, even among people who did not wear hats.

The response to the campaign was immediate and huge. The message that a hot, extremely humid environment that is similar to that of a tropical jungle lay under headgear went viral on online message boards and on social media the moment it was announced. The response's magnitude received a steady stream of mass-media exposure. Free publicity reached 108 million impressions. Within 3 months, the brand attracted 40,000 new customers and formed partnerships with 50 companies that implemented the Headgear-Cover Plan. CLEAR's online sales rose to 171% that of the previous year. Due to earnestly looking at urban legend, Unilever changed perceptions about scalp care and successfully established a custom of using scalp care shampoo after wearing headgear.

The Situation

Because Unilever tried an unprecedented PR method. Unilever studied an urban legend, which people were somewhat inclined to believe, and discovered there was a grain of truth to the legend. It promoted this newfound fact and a new system together as a set to establish a successful positive PR sequence.

The Strategy

People who wear headgear when they work are often the subject of pity. Their friends and families think "that person is likely to lose hair." Furthermore, the hat wearers struggled with the same unseen horror every day. CLEAR reached out to these people and formed partnerships with their employers. It shared (1) the environment under their hats, (2) countermeasures and solutions, and (3) the employers' method of support. Scalp care shampoo that was proportional in quantity to the duration of headgear usage was distributed in an effort to spur inclusion of the product in the targets' everyday lives.