Creativity in Public Relations

Yes that’s correct; that headline is not a typo or a practical joke (and that is a photo with a beaver and a tampon).  Kimberly Clark has a tampon brand called U by Kotex in Australia that is showing signs of a classic example of a challenger brand that knows how to act like one no matter what.

The campaign is incredibly creative, built around research the company did that found that 90% of women have a nickname for their vagina and “beaver” was one of the highest names given in the survey.  This led to the use of an animated beaver to talk about the brand, with the beaver walking around with a girl and going to the beach, getting their nails done, picking up boys and then the girl giving her beaver a box of tampons as a tagline comes on the screen — “you’ve only got one, so for the ultimate care down there, make it U.”  According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald the company has received 150 complaints from consumers but, most importantly to the brand, gained 2 marketshare points in one year - not too shabby.

The product website keeps the fun going, with of course the beaver right on the top of the page saying hello to all who check out the site, showcasing some of the other top winners of nicknames as well as some great videos from Tyra and Jane Fonda talking about vaginas as well.  I promise I’m not making this up.

For me the campaign obvioulsy works firstly because it shakes up some
controvery with an animated beaver.  How many of you right
now are dying with laughter and now zipping to the end to watch the
commercial?  But beyond the funny use of the beaver, the brand really
scores by simply talking in a language that the target audience is
using - its a natural part of the conversation and an authentic one. 
It takes a strong brand in this category to jump right into the common
day language about “down there” and the growth in sales shows this
approach works.

The news article says the beaver is back in 2009, so i can only wait with anticipation for another reminder of why it’s so much fun living down under - no other market could get away with this one.  Aussie Aussie Aussie.