Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

Action film for a beauty ad? That’s a first in the Philippines. As a genre, action has been a crowd favorite in films and tv. Currently, the number 1 and one of the longest running tv shows in the country is an action-themed telenovela. Filipinos are such fanatics for this genre that an action superstar was crowned as “The King of Philippine Cinema”. And now, even female actors are dabbling into this field. But never for a beauty ad. Vitress Triumph film bravely features a female star in an action-packed thriller with a never seen before twist in hair ads.

Background

For decades, big hair care brands in the Philippines have featured the same imagery in their advertising: glamorous shots of women with beautiful hair. As a small local brand, Vitress aims to make a name by doing things differently. Vitress Hair Freshener fights bad hair odor with every spray. This is the benefit that consumers need to know. But the challenge was how to standout amidst the clutter of advertising of multinational haircare brands that dominated both traditional and digital media. Instead of resorting to the usual spots filled with all things beautiful in hair highlighted in beauty ads, the brand came up with a powerful product demo through a memorable and unique narrative in film that redefines the meaning of “hair stunts”.

Describe the creative idea

Fight bad smelly hair with Vitress. A hair ad that ditches beauty and gloss and picks up a weapon instead. Packed with action scenes, dirt, grit and tension, the objective is to hook viewers until the payoff scene. To believe in the promise of the product while taking in the premise of the story. Non-beauty shots for a beauty ad, a hair monster for hair demo, stunts in hair stunts done different ways. These are some of the components in hair spots that were revisited and reinvented to show the target market’s pain point. The intense narrative clearly demonstrates the product benefit: one spray of Vitress will defeat the number one opponent, which is bad hair odor.

Describe the strategy

To hook the audience, the film tries to mislead them first. This is a thriller, action-packed film. The challenge was to come up with a functional, clear product demo spot in a non-traditional way. The strategy was to smoothly embed tension cues in the set-up so that the revelation completes the problem-solution equation perfectly. The protagonist was exposed to hair pollutants, she keeps on fighting back but only to fail repeatedly up until she gets a hold of her weapon – Vitress Hair Freshener. Just a few spray and it will surely kill bad hair odour away.

Describe the execution

The film was promoted like a legit action movie produced by film outfits, starring one of the country’s most popular and sought after “It Girl” in fashion and showbiz, Solenn Heussaf. Fans, netizens and the press went wild over the teasers, training videos, behind the scene promotional posts that were all unbranded. The anticipation soared high for the main material which was eventually released online on Youtube and facebook and as cinema (short film) spot in the action-packed Marvel blockbuster, Spiderman Homecoming.

Describe the outcome

The video reached 1Million views in less than 24 hours with 86.7 Million Impressions, 11.9 Million Unique Reach, and 3.4 Million views to date. Fans and netizens went wild as they were treated into a branded content that is first in its category. People even commended the film for being at par with international and Hollywood standards. Some even complimented it as better than local films and clearly raised the bar high for filmmaking. The material was shared by the press, fans and some celebrities even praised the acting, the concept, and crafting of the film.