Method: “Clean Happy”
Having been awarded the best brand of 2011 earlier this year here on Good Design, I was very keen to see where Method were going to take things marketing wise this year. Traditionally a brand that relies on the strength of word of mouth and personal recommendation (and in a lot of ways still does) for it’s marketing, Method has risen in true challenger brand style using their excellent eye for design and first class sense of fragrance to create desire in their customers (or as Method likes to say ‘advocates’). As of course any challenger brand gets bigger they start to make profit which in turn leads to a marketing budget that previously hadn’t existed. Method have over the last few years worked with a number of top U.S. ad agencies including Crispin Porter & Bogusky, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Droga5 to try and enter the world of traditional media in a bid to reach a wider audience.
Their latest effort comes in the form of ’Clean Happy’, a digital campaign created by Mekanism. Unlike their previous campaigns ‘Clean Happy’ exists purely online, the centerpiece being their Brand Anthem video which runs at just over two minutes and can be found on their and . Method has become famed among their fans for their quirky, off beat advertising using slogans such as ‘People against dirty’ and ‘For the love of clean’, ‘Clean Happy’ is certainly following suitably in this vein. The Brand Anthem contains amongst other things, a marching band, skateboards, a huge sink full of balloons, a children’s party and a stunning 40-foot multi-coloured light wall made out of bottles of their handwash. Not your average cleaning company ad then! But Method are far from average and co-founder Eric Ryan wants the brand’s personality to be “fun and human” describing the new campaign as “Flight of the Conchords, meets Willy Wonka”.
The campaign is being released in four stages starting with the Brand Anthem and then followed by four other clips being released monthly. The first of which is called ‘Clean Like a Mother’ and has been released this month (April 2012). It stars and introduces their new brand mascot ‘Noah’ who brings a hilarious comic edge to the brand and really encapsulates their fun personality. Just to put this latest marketing effort to scale, Method are spending $3.5 million out of a total $10 million for the year which may sound a lot, until you consider that one of their biggest competitors Procter & Gamble will spend an estimated $150 million to introduce a new variety of their detergent Tide called Tide Pods.
It seems like Method’s strategy is already paying off however with well over a million views of the Brand Anthem and and just under half a million for ‘Cleans like a Mother’ respectively in just over a month, not bad! Be sure to check back on Good Design over the coming months for the next campaign installments as they are released.
To read the full method review click here.
