In November, Pantene launched “Labels Against Women,” a new commercial in the Philippines addressing the unfair treatment of women. In short, the advert shows situations in which a woman is labeled differently than a man despite the same actions. While I 100% support changing the perception of women, that is not what I wish to discuss.
What the competition is doing
Personal care brand Dove, a Unilever product and big competitor, uses cause marketing to connect with consumers (if you are unfamiliar with Dove’s work, then see the Real Beauty campaign).
Rather than always focusing on the features and benefits of the product, Dove uses cause marketing to align and attach itself with an important societal level issue – the misrepresentation of women in media.
Is P&G trying to beat Unilever at its own game?
To date, Pantene, a P&G product, has positioned itself based on features and benefits. Pantene, for example, focuses on hair shine, hair strength or repairing damaged/aged hair.
Here’s one of Pantene’s commercials with Courtney Cox from earlier this year illustrating that position.
The new commercial, Labels Against Women, is a departure, though, from Pantene’s typical advertising. The message is that “rather than buying Pantene because you want Courtney Cox’s hair, you should now buy it because you want to be you – a strong, unlabeled, unrestricted woman.”
Again, a societal level issue about the misrepresentation of women.
Take a moment to watch Labels Against Women so you can see the contrast between the two brand positions.
How P&G is extending the Pantene brand meaning in Labels Against Women
What’s really genius about the ad is the way that P&G leveraged existing brand equity. For example, the ad concludes by saying “Be Strong and Shine.” Shine, which Pantene has touted as a benefit for years, takes on all new meaning in this context. Further, the ad features the hashtag #WhipIt. Again, P&G is using existing brand assets but leveraging them in a new way.
So the ad really feels like the next step in Pantene’s brand evolution. But is it? Or is it just a one-off.
Personally, I hope to see this position from Pantene in the future. And I think it will pay-off for P&G. In just over a month, Labels Against Women garnered 8.3 million YouTube views while the Courtney Cox spot has only 14k views after 10 months.
Shine on Pantene. Shine on.
(Cover photo courtesy of Albumarium.com)