Episode 50 - Tide Clean Jersey Swap Ad Reviewed by Unilever and Upwork
This week for Advertisers Watching Ads, our partners Contagious have chosen Tide’s ad about the NFL clean jersey swap organised last year in the US. Trying to get over some of the Covid-19 restrictions, such as the inability to do the traditional jersey swap between players after a game, the ad couldn’t be more topical.
Does it capture everyone’s experience of Covid-19, however, and does the fact that it’s so angled at American football really matter? How valuable will the ad’s impact be for the brand in the long term and what does it do well for authenticity?
See what our guests Michael Cole from Unilever and Patrick Holly from Upwork thought of it and watch the full video to hear what brands can learn from this ad.
Transcription of audio file
This automated transcription gives you a good idea of what was said, but it’s not 100% accurate.
Tom Ollerton 0:08
Hello, and welcome to Advertisers Watching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of Automated Creative, and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands' ads and discuss what's good and bad about them. We are brought to you this week by Contagious who have chosen this week's ad, so thanks for sharing that, guys. But before we see the creative, let's meet this week's guests.
Michael Cole 0:32
I'm Michael Cole. I'm the Lead for Social Media at Sundial Brands within Unilever.
Patrick Holly 0:37
I'm Patrick Holly. I'm the Executive Creative Director at Upwork.
Tom Ollerton 0:40
Thanks so much for joining us today, guys. Let's see this week's campaign.
[ad]
Okay, so Michael, what was your initial response to that creative idea?
Michael Cole 2:47
Just kind of knowing the context of what last year was being such an unprecedented year, I think it was a smart way for a business to stay really relevant. It was smart for Tide to forge this partnership with the NFL. I think it was timely, the partnership feels natural and doesn't feel too forced, which is always the kind of the goal when, when forming these types of partnerships.
Patrick Holly 3:14
Yeah, I think the the hardest thing, or really the core of what we do as advertisers is contextualizing the product or idea we're trying to sell to our audience. And it did it in a way that was authentic, both to the NFL, and to Tide, like there was no, like forced interest there. It was a really good kind of mix of what they are as a brand and what the NFL fandom is as a brand.
Michael Cole 3:38
And that's exactly what they did in this advertisement, they made it clear without so much spelling out the message that this is, you know, COVID-safe or... So, I think it was a really natural way to kind of deliver that message and contextualize like you said, for people without kind of spelling it out.
Patrick Holly 3:55
That authenticity kind of came off to fans, and then came off even more so when they saw the way that the athletes were integrated. And I thought that was like kind of the biggest coup in my part, or in my opinion about the way that this this ad was made.
Michael Cole 4:10
I do think that this particular advertisement is very anchored in a moment in time. Let's, you know, be really clear that both the NFL and Tide had a very clear marketing problem to solve. So the NFL issue was that they were combating criticisms that you know, the process wasn't safe. Tide had a new product that they wanted to sell and so they came together in the best way possible. However, I don't think that message necessarily sustaining especially now, almost, you know, almost a year in the future at this point that the message isn't necessarily going to renew itself and we've got a find... You know, Tide or the NFL has to find new ways to kind of reconvince people that they're still doing the work of making sure that their the venues are safe, their games are COVID compliant. And that Tide is consistently innovating.
Tom Ollerton 5:02
Patrick, what's your view about what would have made this ad better?
Patrick Holly 5:07
It focuses a little bit too much on football and not enough on the world around football as well. And I think that could have been aware of a way for them to potentially improve upon it. What I mean by that is you have to think about... What about the fans who aren't working anymore? What about the people in the world, and particularly the United States who are affected by COVID in a way that's more impactful in a negative sense than not being able to exchange a jersey. A partnership with the fanatics would have been smart to then kind of have each of those jerseys be auctioned off, and all of the proceeds going to some kind of COVID relief effort. I feel like that is something that a lot of brands did very well, throughout COVID, having some kind of charitable aspect to their activation. I feel like, there's very little wrong with it. But I feel like that is the one thing that could have come off, potentially, I wouldn't say tone deaf, which is like... It could have been improved in that way.
Michael Cole 6:02
That's a really, really good point, I think it's easy to forget that a lot of people were in a really bad place. And so one of the things we do at my company is everything that we do every partnership has a good purpose component. Yes, the NFL is a great thing. How can we make it more beneficial to the actual people who are, you know, shelling out, you know, all these dollars to go to NFL games? And, you know, how do we, how do we give back to, to various communities? And I think, you know, for me, that seems like a little bit of a mess, in terms of not bringing through the good purpose a little bit more clearly.
Tom Ollerton 6:40
I'm curious to know what you guys think about the numbers at the end. So there's a 22% increase in sales and that they, they outsold Persil, which I assume in marketing is no small claim, otherwise, they wouldn't have made it. But do you feel that that's... There's a bit of spin going on there? I'm always a bit dubious of these big numbers, these big claims at the end of case study videos, or am I just being grouchy about it?
Patrick Holly 7:05
Looking at the numbers of the end aren't, aren't important. In terms of understanding this is a good idea. One thing that I did was look at, you know, how many use mentions and social mentions and stuff this got and it was significant. That's really the main metric that as an advertiser I look at, and like, "That makes sense." Because people are now talking about and thinking about your brand. And, you know, based on how successful it seems to be in the, in the wide adoption throughout the NFL. The numbers don't surprise me. I also think that a lot of people are probably buying stuff that said, kills COVID on it at this time. So, there might have been a little bit of a, artificial inflation in those numbers. But I think overall as an idea, and one that was yet again, contextualized to not only a fandom, not only a set of athletes, not only you know, these two brands, but to a time in which the ad was, was kind of put out to the world. I think it's a, it's an absolute success, hundred percent.
Tom Ollerton 7:59
So Michael, what can brands be learning from this idea?
Michael Cole 8:03
I think brands have to think about what's in the context of the news and the world. We, as advertisers, I think, are always chasing the next big trend. And sometimes because of that, we're kind of overlooking what's happening in the now. And I think it's really, really important to pay attention to the current news cycle. I think to your earlier question, you know, just regarding 22% increase in sales, I mean, of course, like any product that had to deal with home, health, hygiene, had a record year last year. I think that was probably worldwide. But I think it's super important to think about your brand in the context of solving people's everyday problems. And when brands can do that, I think they really went on a personal level with people. There was some opportunities for Tide and for the NFL to make this a little bit more real for people. But I think they did an effective job in caring for the message, which is this is a product that works for a very real solution.
Tom Ollerton 9:03
So unfortunately, guys, we're gonna have to leave it there. But what I'm going to get you to do is to vote how many marks out of five you think this ad should get. On a count of three, just hold up the amount of fingers, you think it's worth. One, two, three... A five and a four, which, which puts Tide in the number two place for best performing ad in the recent months. So, guys, thank you so much. If you're watching this, this show, please comment. Whether it's on Youtube or Twitter or LinkedIn. It'd be great to hear what you think. And please go and check out Contagious. Thanks guys for supporting us. And Patrick, Michael, thank you so much. We'll see you all next week.
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