Sunsilk: IT'S HAIR ADVERTISING, BUT WHERE IS THE HAIR?!

Credits & Description:

CLIENT UNILEVER MALAYSIA
PRODUCT HAIR CARE PRODUCTS
ENTRANT MINDSHARE MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
TYPE OF ENTRY INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN
CATEGORY INTEGRATED MEDIA CAMPAIGN
TITLE IT'S HAIR ADVERTISING, BUT WHERE IS THE HAIR?!
PRODUCT/SERVICE HAIR CARE PRODUCTS
MEDIA AGENCY : MINDSHARE MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
ENTRANT COMPANY : MINDSHARE MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
MEDIA AGENCY 2 : MINDSHARE MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
CHAN FOONG MEI MINDSHARE MALAYSIA PLANNER
SARAH BOEY MINDSHARE MALAYSIA MANAGER, DIGITAL
HOOI YIN YIN MINDSHARE MALAYSIA EXECUTIVE, DIGITAL
CASSY LIEW MINDSHARE MALAYSIA SENIOR EXECUTIVE, IMPLEMENTATION
SAURABH TYAGI MINDSHARE MALAYSIA DIRECTOR, CLIENT LEADERSHIP
PRAJAKTA PARANJPE MINDSHARE MALAYSIA HEAD OF PLANNING
LOOI YEW MUN MINDSHARE MALAYSIA SENIOR MANAGER, IMPLEMENTATION
HARIS ISMAIL GROUPM HEAD OF CONTENT
PHOENIX HO UNILEVER MALAYSIA BRAND MANAGER
YIPPIE YIP IMMERSE COMMUNICATIONS ACCOUNT MANAGER
IMMERSE COMMUNICATIONS SDN BHD ADDITIONAL COMPANY
Results and Effectiveness:
Swapping hair styling for hijab styling was a winning move for Sunsilk. • After decline in Sales by -5% in 2012, Sunsilk came back with a +9% growth in 2013. • Sunsilk Clean & Fresh variant was the major contributor to this success with +11% increase in sales • A double-digit boost for Sunsilk on brand image statements of ‘Making hair beautiful’ and ‘Clean & Fresh Scalp’ amongst young Malay women who were exposed to the Content. Sunsilk has successfully created an affinity with hijab-wearing Malaysian women.
Creative Execution:
Sunsilk embarked on owning the ‘Hijab Fashion’ territory COMPREHENSIVELY through initiatives across TV, digital, magazines, events. Driving education for the product and Hijab styling through Digital: • Sunsilk collaborated with leading hijab designers to create unique styles for different occasions called ‘Sunsilk-Twists’. Hijab Styling and haircare tips were shared on the cover of leading women’s magazines, YouTube and Social Media. Binding this style in Malay culture through a Television drama: • We created a TV-drama called ‘Dunia Lola’ (Lola’s world) about how Sunsilk realized a young woman’s dream of being a Hijab fashion stylist despite life’s adversities. Making it larger than life through Fashion Reality Show: • A reality show showcased the journey of aspiring hijab designers & models under the mentorship of renowned designer. This was aired on leading TV stations & Sunsilk Youtube channel. The winning designs were showcased on the runways of the Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF).
Insights, Strategy and the Idea:
Sunsilk’s Clean & Fresh was formulated specifically for Hijab wearing young Malaysian women. But due censorship regulations based on religious sensitivities we couldn’t show hijab wearing women washing hair or flaunting hairstyles in our advertising. This put forth a unique challenge for Sunsilk – to advertise to this segment without showing hair in its advertising. Search trends on Google showed increasing trend for Hijab-styling related terms – all aimed at creating personalized ways of wearing the Hijab. Proprietary research further revealed that by wearing the hijab these women conformed to their culture/religion and by styling it they portrayed their individuality and distinct personalities. In the process, Hijab was turning from being a part of their religious attire to a fashion statement - within the confines of ‘Muslimah’ values. Hence, we decided to use ‘Hijab styling’ as a surrogate for ‘Hair Styling’ in all communication targeting hijab wearing women.