Doorstep challenges make way for mini-soaps as
Daz wins two EURO EFFIE® golds for its ‘Cleaner Close’ Campaign

October 01, 2004. Weybridge, Surrey. Procter & Gamble’s Daz brand received two prestigious European advertising awards for its ‘Cleaner Close’ campaign last night in Brussels. The European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) has awarded Daz two EURO EFFIE® Gold awards for Best Campaign and Best Brand Revitalisation.

Mark Brickhill, Managing Director of P&G’s Fabric Care business in Western Europe, commented:

“We’re absolutely delighted with the awards as are our partners at Leo Burnett. The Daz ‘Cleaner Close’ campaign is an example of transformational creative advertising that connects emotionally and entertains users of Daz. These awards highlight our mission to be in touch with people who buy our brands and celebrates the fabulous work of the entire Leo Burnett team, especially Creative Director Simon Brooks. By truly understanding the lives of Daz users first, we developed creative advertising that both delights them and builds our business.”

P&G, who invented soap operas in the 1930’s, were faced with the challenge of reinvigorating a declining Daz brand with a new generation of housewives. The concept behind the winning campaign is a series of spoof dramas called ‘Cleaner Close’, featuring Daz as the hero in a series of melodramatic tales of soap opera intrigue.

Working hand in hand with ad agency Leo Burnett, the campaign was based on an insight that the target audience were less serious in dealing with their laundry and had a passion for soaps. The team saw that there was an opportunity to talk to them in a more light-hearted, engaging way. “Cleaner Close” dramatised real life situations with which they were all familiar, while appealing to their passion. The campaign end line ‘the soap you can believe in’ was intended to communicate the straightforward reliability of Daz, while satirizing the high drama in the typical soap opera. The media schedule was developed around a handful of TV soaps, celebrity gossip magazines and TV listings.

The ads connected with consumers who were persuaded to reassess Daz as a fun, contemporary brand reflecting their lifestyle, and encouraged them to switch from other brands of washing powder. One watcher commented “It was witty, it was very good. Wherever you are in the room you will stop and look at it.” The success of the campaign meant that Daz increased its share in the UK for the first time in eight years, and it was equally successful in the Republic of Ireland.

P&G picked up two other awards on the night, a silver EURO EFFIE for its Herbal Essences Fruit Fusions campaign, also with Leo Burnett, together with a bronze award for its Head and Shoulders “Surprise” campaign with Saatchi & Saatchi.

The EURO EFFIE® awards, presented by the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA), go to campaigns which have achieved proven success in two or more European markets. The awards are open to campaigns from traditional advertising and other marketing disciplines and are assessed purely on the effectiveness of the campaign. These awards support and promote the role of advertising as an effective and efficient use of marketing resources. More information can be found at www.euro-effie.com.

About P&G
Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Bounty®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Actonel®, Olay® and Clairol Nice ‘n Easy®, Head & Shoulders®, and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.

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