CIL: Paint Chip Names For Men

Credits & Description:

Agency: Reason Partners
Client: CIL Paints / AkzoNobel
Brand: CIL Paints
Company: Reason Partners, Toronto
Target: Canada · North America
Creative Director: Peter Holmes, Reason Partners
Creative Director: Jamie Way, Reason Partners
Art Director: Mike Mulik, Reason Partners
CTO: Ryan Favro, Reason Partners
Features: Apps, Pages
Language: English (US)
Objectives: Awareness, Online Traffic, Offline Traffic, Sales, 0
Tags: Retail, Facebook Apps, Facebook Pages, Awareness, Online Traffic, Offline Traffic, Sales, Print, Online, OOH, North America, Canada, English (US), Apps, Pages  
Research showed that while men are typically involved in the purchase and labour of painting, they're not overly enthused about the planning process. So we proposed a solution based on the insight that all paint chip names are categorically feminine, therefore making the painting experience less engaging for men. 
Hence, CIL's 'Paint Chip Names for Men' was born.


The campaign included a Facebook app that was promoted through OOH, in-store, newspaper and online video advertising. With the app, we invited people to create their own 'manly' paint chip names by renaming existing paint chips and entering the contest. The app allowed contestants to use all of Facebook's sharing tools to get as many votes as possible in order to win a 'man cave' makeover.
Campaign Performance
Before the campaign, the CIL brand wasn't being talked about in Canada, despite being around for a century. 'Paint Chip Names for Men' changed that. Over a 45-day period and on a small budget, the campaign achieved all goals and then some, generating well over $1,000,000 in earned media exposure, 100 million online impressions, a 10% increase in sales, and over 15,000 paint chip names.
Other campaign statistics:
• over 20,000 unique users
• 10 minutes average time spent on the app
• 15,000 stories created and spread 400,000 times
As an end note, oddly enough, when random people off the street were shown double-sided paint chips with the feminine and masculine name, they all thought it was two different colors — even though both sides were exactly the same colour.