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Johannesburg - It was an all-out assault, using every conceivable touch-point to reach consumers.
Durban agency The Hardy Boys, tasked with building an awareness campaign for Omo, created the Omo door-to-door challenge.
It ran a TV game show and traversed the countryside visiting peoples' homes, while blitzing billboards, radio stations and point of sale counters. Educational prizes of R1 million was given to the children of hardworking moms.
It earned the agency accolades from the brass at Unilever and more work on the brand.
Headed by celebrity game show host Nkanyiso Bhengu, a TV film team pitched up at houses in villages and asked housewives whether they used Omo washing powder.
If they did, they were invited to wash a shirt, removing grass, grease or mud stains.
Then they peeled back a label on the collar, revealing the prize, an educational bursary worth anything between R10 000 and R100 000.
Account manager Christiane Botha said advance parties were sent ahead to create awareness about the show and a buzz about the product.
Within an hour the crew hit the road again, editing the footage in the back of a van and transmitting via satellite to SABC headquarters by 14:00pm.
They did this non-stop, every weekday for 40 days.
"Classic campaigns aren't guaranteed to work for everyone in this economy," says Hardy Boys MD Dale Tomlinson.
"To make brands stand out you have to transmit relevant messages across a variety of media; you have to engage consumers."
The Hardy Boys is a leading Durban independent agency with annual grossed-up billings of more than R250m. Clients include Unilever, Rainbow Chicken, Miladys, Nouwens, Russell Hobbs, Ola, SA Home Loans and Huletts.
- Fin24.com
