P&G shampoo shifts gear for China rebirth

A new execution, which broke earlier this month, has shelved the brand's former reliance on before and after stories and scientific demonstrations in favour of an elegant spot showing a woman emerging from a cocoon with beautiful hair. "Shampoo ads in China all look the same. It's insane," said JC Catibog, regional director for the agency that developed the ads, Saatchi & Saatchi. "It's very difficult to tell one from the other. The challenge for the team was coming up with an execution that redefines beauty in the haircare category. What we have arrived at is truly provocative. Stepping back, our executions bring us to the world of premium skincare and fine fragrances." The final ad was preceded by a series of teaser print and TV ads, showing first just a cocoon which then starts to unravel in subsequent slots, revealing the woman inside. The print ads were tagged with the line 'March 6, Head & Shoulders is going to make you look good', carrying a double meaning in Chinese of 'Something is going to happen to Head & Shoulders on March 6'. The final ad reveals the product, a new zinc formulation, together with the woman who now has butterfly wings made up of the threads of the cocoon. "As for the brand, its only image flaw is that it is perceived to be old fashioned," Catibog said. "The product upgrade gave us the opportunity to talk about the rebirth." The emotional benefit offered has also progressed, from freeing consumers from problems, the message of the old ads, to renewal, empowerment and rebirth. The new ad marks the first stage of a creative overhaul for Head & Shoulders in China, one of the 10 biggest spending brands in the country. "It's a bigger idea than just the butterfly," Catibog said. "Reborn is a big idea. We know it will inspire a lot of emotional and functional stories in the long tem." The ads are an evolutionary step in the development of the Head & Shoulders, which already had an emotional element in its communications, according to its marketing director for Greater China, Udai Kunzru. "The change seems far more visible in the latest executions, because it reflects our understanding of how the Chinese consumer and Chinese society have evolved over the last few years," he said. Consumers are increasingly seeking out brands that make an emotional connection with them as changes in society weaken their traditional pillars of support, Kunzru added. "We have just reflected this consumer understanding in the advertising, in a way that is a great fit with our brand equity." "To say that the shampoo market in China is active is an understatement," Catibog said. "More than a hundred local and international brands launch every year. Standing out and owning benefits and values consumers truly care about is the key challenge."