Canesten: The Code Word [video]

Credits & Description:

Titile: The Code Word
Agency: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Brand: Bayer
Country: Hong Kong
Advertising Agency: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Entrant Company: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Media Agency: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Pr Agency: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Production Company: J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong
Film Producer: Avis Or (Answermark Limited)
Associate Art Director: Anisa Luk (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Senior Art Director: Joseph Lam (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Art Director: Andy Chow (Answermark Limited)
Associate Creative Director: Andy Wong (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Group Creative Director: Quentin Yeong (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Planning Director: Connie Ho (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Chief Creative Officer: Craig Howie (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Film Director: Eggtart Chow (Answermark Limited)
Agency Producer: Anthony Leung (J. Walter Thompson Hong Kong)
Music Composer: Day Tai (D Dome Production)
Execution:
Base on the code word of Korean-sounding name “Kim Tou Yin”, we launched our campaign by creating an online Korean-style drama series targeted at women. The storyline revolved around a woman with a secret she was hiding from her friends. Unable to speak out about her condition, her friends assume she is having an affair with her handsome Korean co-worker — Kim Tou Yin, when what she actually has is — Yum Tou Yim (Yeast Infection). But women weren’t the only ones in on the secret. We also created a campaign toolkit for pharmacists, to ensure they ready to recommend Canesten when they heard the code word.
Strategy:
Since our target audience are women in Hong Kong. And they already spend an inordinate amount of time gossiping about their favourite male Korean television stars, we twisted the Cantonese pronunciation of Yeast Infection ‘Yum Tou Yim' into a similar, hunky Korean-sounding name 'Kim Tou Yin'.
Synopsis:
Three out of four women have experienced the discomfort of a yeast infection. Fortunately, this common condition is easily treatable with Canesten, a safe and effective over-the-counter medication available from any pharmacist. However, Women were often too embarrassed to speak to a pharmacist about their condition. Especially in Hong Kong where the Cantonese term for 'Yeast Infection' translates into the far more graphically named 'Vagina Infection'. So, we created a code word to make it more comfortable for women to talk about, whether to their pharmacist or simply amongst their female friends.
Campaign Description:
In order to avoid the embarrassment to speak about Yeast Infection in front of pharmacist, our idea is simple. We create a code word to make it more comfortable for women to talk about, whether to their pharmacist or simply amongst their female friends.
Outcome:
For about 900,000 women aged between 25 to 34 in Hong Kong, the webseries received over 200,000 views in the first few days alone with online searches for the clever code word skyrocketing. The campaign even made the front cover of one of Hong Kong's most popular magazines. Plus, with additional print and out-of-home support, Kim Tou Yin became a hot topic of conversation for women all across Hong Kong. Within the campaign period, sales increased 25% and traffic to pharmacy increase 41%.
Brief with projected outcomes:
Women were often too embarrassed to speak to pharmacist about their condition. Especially in Hong Kong the Cantonese for 'Yeast Infection' translates into the far more graphically named 'Vagina Infection'. Our challenge is to help take the discomfort out of both having, and talking about yeast infection by choosing Canesten.
Audience:
Our target Audience are women in Hong Kong, especially those who aged between 25 to 34, and have less experience of yeast infection.