Ads & Ends — Nanette Franco-Diyco
A new hire joined the creative department of a multinational ad agency straight from an extended vacation in Europe. She turned out to be my A-student in creativity in all my three advertising classes at the Ateneo a good four years ago.
Over the phone, she was all excited, asking me if I had seen this brand new commercial on YouTube casting two beautiful white dogs in a great Modess commercial.
No, I answered. All the TV commercials I had been exposed to that dealt with sanitary napkins pertained to humans, and no beasts ever entered the equation.
But I believed the woman, captivated as she seemed to be, and remembering her innate creativity during her university years.
It was easy to download the commercial. I went to YouTube and clicked on Modess Dogs. My curiosity peaked. If you find babies difficult to cast in a TV commercial, I can only guess that dogs can very well equal this so-called honor.
You will see two dogs in the Modess commercial. Actually, four dogs were alternately used in the actual shoot. (One, named “Prada,” is owned by Kris Aquino).
The 30-second commercial indeed features two white Bichon Frise dogs, a breed that boasts the fluffiest white fur. Sanitary pads were attached on the backs of the dogs via straps, much like straps that dogs would use handsomely for their leashes.
The material opens with an extreme close-up of one dog’s face. He is so white that his small round eyes stand out looking at you. Then, his small red tongue licks his nose — and you are, of course, immediately drawn to watching the entire material up to its glorious end.
I cannot help but remember a Japanese client who mandated that each and every appliance’s TV commercial of his company must have a cat or a dog in some part of the commercial. He said that Aristotle had three B’s that assured greater memorability for any communication material: babies, beauties, and beasts. His preference: beasts.
The use of the beast in this Modess commercial is absolutely enticing and memorable. What I find dramatically effective is the use of the dogs to demonstrate how Modess is superior in absorbency to its closest competitor.
The next frames show the two dogs strapped with the two competitive brands of sanitary napkins — one marked “Other Brand”, and the other marked “Modess.”
(Unlike the US, the Philippine advertising industry does not allow direct comparison advertising).
Separate hands are shown simultaneously pouring two cups of blue liquid on the pads on the backs of the two dogs. Then the two dogs jump from their white platform, and with extreme movements, they jostle and carouse around each other. The viewer sees the blue liquid spilling from the pad marked “Other Brand” — proof that Modess is superior in absorption over its competitor.
Merlee Cruz Jayme, DM9/Digit chief creative officer and the lead creative for the project, said: “The secret behind great demo is believability. If consumers smell anything simulated and fake, they won’t spend their precious time watching it. So the product has to be true to its claim, and then the real fun is entirely up to us to create.”
“To get the message across and stand out in a crowded medium like Facebook [or] YouTube, there was a need to do something unexpected and [that had] never been done before. The demo video was effective in cutting through the noise of teen targeted personal care commercials. This material resulted in an amazing 12.41% engagement rate with our target market. That’s 400% greater than the industry standard of 3%. Average view rate peaked at 92% as most viewers watched through the video until the end.”
Rommell Narvaez, Modess marketing director, said: “Teen girls are usually scared to be active at the height of their period. The biggest reason for this is their lack of confidence with the sanitary pad’s absorption. Because for them, movement equals leaks. With Modess’s raised instacapture center, we wanted to assure them otherwise.”
You must agree that the dogs’ heightened activity in the commercial can better the teen’s at any time.
Great collaboration between client and agency! I would imagine the difficulty of getting the client’s approval for such a novel fun demonstration. I wouldn’t hesitate getting the material on mainstream television!
Credits. Client-company, Johnson & Johnson Philippines/ Modess: Rommell Narvaez, marketing director for Johnson & Johnson Phils.; Karen Co, group brand manager for women’s health; J-Anne Guarinio, brand manager for women’s health; Bea Bravo, assistant brand manager for women’s health.
Agency, DM9/Digit: Merlee Cruz Jayme, Gian Nealega, Dee Taar Reyes — creative team; Carlo Ople, Julia Gallardo, Belle Tapalla — account team; Tanya Blay, producer; Caloy Soliongco, director.
Production house, WYD Productions.
NANETTE FRANCO-DIYCO ended her 15th year advertising career as Vice-President of JWT, segueing into the world of academe, currently teaching communications at the Ateneo de Manila University.
nanettediyco131@gmail.com
