New Huggies campaign mixes 'standard' PR ingredients to emotional effect
“Docufilm.” Survey statistics. A diverse cast. Introspective interviews. Vignettes.
Stop me if this sounds like the predictable equation of many a consumer PR campaign these days. Well, you can add Kimberly Clark’s Huggies brand to the list of CPG Goliaths sticking to that script.
Here’s the thing. It works, particularly if executed well. Huggies does a nice, if not spectacular, job with their most recent effort.
The campaign comes from Ogilvy in Australia, and it features real Aussie families. It leans into prevailing insights and emotions surrounding modern-day parents as they try to navigate the new challenge of raising newborns — with the added scrutiny of a social media universe ever-ready to cast a critical eye. None of them ever believing they’re living up to expectations, whether their own or those cast upon them.
According to brand reps, the effort is meant to “get people talking about, and ultimately ending parent-shaming…Huggies wants to celebrate all parents and empower them to feel comfortable in their parenting abilities and choices.”
The insight is real, if not entirely original. Similarly, the formula is not unfamiliar. The longer-form content, though, does a good job of being relatable and capturing that emotional pressure - across different kinds of families.
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piohRBLld8w&w=854&h=480]
You’ll recognize the construct (cough, Dove, cough, cough). Regardless, it’s effective and the companion survey that delves deeper into “parent shaming” with the goal of “parent faming” will drive press. The :30 spot, unfortunately, lacks the same punch albeit it’s more difficult to achieve in the format for various reasons. It still could’ve gone bolder. It didn’t.
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Overall, I’m a fan of the effort. The “be comfortable in your skin” tagline ties it nicely back to product without being too in-your-face.
Kudos to the Huggies team, and here’s to hoping it does help some moms reassess all they do and accomplish for their families every day.