±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Catching the imagination

The selection of the music for the ad was crucial. BBH shortlisted six tracks, recommending the eventual choice Make Luv. However, marketing director Steve Miles was worried it was too 'pop' and, as the brand team are mostly in their 30s, they canvassed the opinions of the music industry to check it had the kind of sound that would appeal both to DJs and Lynx's young target market.

The fact that the song could be heard in clubs and on the radio over the summer (the ad broke in February) is testament to its appeal. It stayed at number one for four weeks and had more radio play than any other record that year. An unplanned third burst of the TV ad ran in mid-April, to coincide with the song being featured on ITV's CD:UK! and Five's Smash Hits shows, and the CD was Pulse-branded.

A range of promotions and events were planned to ensure maximum awareness among young men. Agency teams met weekly to make collaborative plans, and, unusually for a campaign this size, there was no 'lead' agency.

Attention was also given to another key audience: trade buyers. Pre-launch, they were invited to the Capital Radio studios for a presentation on the campaign, and were given copies of the CD to take away.

Ultimately, the simple appeal of a geeky guy who gets the girl, coupled with a catchy track and dance, won the day for Lynx.

But the campaign wasn't universally popular. Jobling reports that while it went down well in 'Anglo' markets such as Northern Europe and Australasia, in Italy, where men don't like to identify with a less-than-perfect male specimen, the ad was received with less gusto.

AGENCIES

Advertising: Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Media: Initiative

PR: Freud Communications

Promotions/events: Out of the Blue/Get Real!

Music management: PIAS/Postiva

Internet: Dare Digital

Budget: £3m

MEDIA PLAN

Objectives

Lever Faberge launches a fragrance variant of its market-leading male deodorant Lynx each year. For the introduction of Lynx Pulse in spring 2003, the global brand management team, based in the UK, decided to create a campaign that would tap more closely into the brand's personality, rather than just referring to the nature of the fragrance. The aim was to boost the brand's 17% share of the male deodorant market in the UK. The campaign was also to be used across Europe, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

Strategy

Lynx campaigns have always been about helping young men achieve greater success with women, so the activity had to focus on Pulse's role in this.

The inherent seduction promise led to the idea of using music and dance in a campaign based around a TV ad. This offered the chance to devise a dance, which it was hoped would be emulated by men eager to achieve the 'Lynx effect'. The music was to be a feelgood track with wide appeal and an infectious hook, performed by a little-known artist who would not overshadow the brand.

Execution

After an exhaustive selection process, the team chose the track Make Luv by DJ Room 5. A choreographer created a series of fairly simple dance moves that the geeky hero of the ad could perform, copied by two women.

The track was sent to key DJs ahead of the ad's launch, and the track was released a few weeks later. Other activity included press and poster ads and a website that allowed users to remix the track. There was also extensive field marketing work to encourage consumers to try the dance, including 'Pulse areas' within stores such as HMV.

Results

The campaign outperformed its target by 100%. By the end of summer 2003, Lynx's total brand share had risen to 19%. The Pulse variant had managed to capture a 5% share - double that of Lynx Dimension, the fragrance launched the previous year. This success brought some unexpected benefits to the Lynx team by re-engaging people internally, according to Margaret Jobling, Lynx's European brand director. 'Everyone has heard about the Pulse campaign at Unilever; it's been talked about at lots of internal conferences and has given the team new-found confidence in the brand.'