The Campaign

The Joy team joined forces with Aflo, one of Japan’s largest photo agencies and a stock image source popular with creative marketers and advertisers. Images of men and women enjoying housework together were created and made available for download via Aflo’s website, in the hope that use in advertisements, articles and creative works might alter the perception of those who saw them. Six months of research, including social listening, news analysis, media audits, and consumer surveys, provided the basis for development of a relatable, uncontroversial message. Once-tiresome chores were reframed as a potential source of happiness for couples, transforming them from Job to Joy, a slogan that also referenced the Joy brand name. The appropriateness of this message and the intended transmission strategies were confirmed through consultation with influencers in the field of gender issues.

Execution

The Joy PR team prepared 58 attractive photos of couples enjoying housework together for distribution via the Aflo website, initially free of charge for social media and advertising use. Next, an online video, The Things We Share, was created to remind viewers that shared experiences, including housework, are an important way of bringing couples closer together. To maximize exposure, the campaign was launched on November 22. Known in Japan as “Good Couples Day,” this date represents an annual peak for coverage of couples’ issues. To media outlets, the video and the photo initiative provided attractive subject material for topical reporting on the occasion. Lastly, Joy created special marriage registration forms with an extra section for couples to make a pre-nuptial pledge to share their chores after tying the knot. Available for free download, couples were even able to submit these forms to government offices nationwide to officially register their union.

The story was reported by 498 media sources, including major outlets with a strong influence on Japanese public opinion. This included nationwide newspapers and national public broadcaster NHK, which even made a rare exception to its usually firm restrictions on direct references to businesses, brands and products by featuring both the P&G and Joy brand names on screen. The Aflo pictures were downloaded more than 3,600 times for marketing and media purposes, while the video gained over one million views within thirty hours of release, a figure that would grow to around 3.4 million over the following three weeks. Extensive sharing on social media contributed to an eventual view count equivalent to one play for every 38 people in Japan. The Joy Shared Housework Marriage Notifications received around 4,500 downloads. The initiatives received widespread media coverage, including praise and endorsements from numerous commentators and influencers. The themes addressed by the campaign were taken up in various settings, including corporate training seminars, a symposium at the University of Tokyo (an institution with significant influence on public policy in Japan), and “World Assembly for Women: WAW!,” an international women’s conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the months following the campaign, P&G Japan recorded a 40% YoY increase in sales of Joy dishwashing detergent in November 2017.

The Situation

In Japan, conservative attitudes to gender roles, and the firmly ingrained stereotype that housework is women’s work, can mean that misjudged attempts to challenge the status quo are met with considerable backlash. This project sought to account for such risks by developing data-driven messages, securing the advance cooperation of influencers, and preparing to respond to any potential criticism. External partners were leveraged in detailed planning and analysis, and the project successfully resonated with its target audience. This not only promoted a perception shift in individual households, but also created a path for a broader change in attitudes throughout Japanese society.

The Strategy

The campaign aimed to tackle the issue of gender inequality in housework and promote a nationwide attitude shift—both across society and in individual homes—while showcasing P&G’s commitment to the Japanese market, and differentiating the Joy brand from its competitors. The campaign targeted millennials, seen by the team as a demographic likely to pass on the positive message to subsequent generations. As in other countries and regions, Japan’s millennials are frequent users of the Internet and social media. This is why the campaign incorporated a strong online dimension including the creation not only of stock photographs, but also a YouTube video intended to help millennials relate to the issues being discussed, and foster a change in attitudes in their own homes.