Brief Explanation

Some campaigns can change a brand’s fortunes within a category. Some campaigns can disrupt and redefine categories. Some campaigns can move society forward in a small but meaningful way, redefine the category and change a brand’s fortunes. In 2015, in the face of competition, Ariel, a premium detergent brand in India, did the latter with ‘Share The Load’– a social movement that didn’t focus on removing clothes stains, but on removing the cultural stain of gender inequality in the home to liberate women from the obligation of doing laundry. The movement more than delivered on its objectives in 2015: it generated immense positive attention for the brand, helping Ariel Matic, Ariel’s premium detergent brand for washing machines, almost double sales. The movement was honoured as the top marketing campaign in the WARC100 list, a Grand Prix at both WARC Asia Strategy Awards and the APAC Effies and a Bronze Cannes Effectiveness Lion. The success achieved was humbling. But from the start we knew gender inequality in the home is a massive cultural issue. There is no quick fix for it and we needed to be committed to it over the longer term to make any meaningful difference. This case study focuses on how Ariel’s ‘Share The Load’ movement over 2 years (2015 and 2016) focused on the condition of gender inequality in the home and then the conditioning that creates the issue to drive significant social and business impact.