Parents will know that getting children to clean their teeth before bedtime can be a stressful and ultimately futile experience.
Aquafresh was launching two kids' toothpastes - Little Teeth (for three to five-year-olds) and Big Teeth (for six to nine-year-olds) - to add to its existing Milk Teeth product (for one to threes). The client and wanted to help mums win the bedtime battle, rather than simply flog them toothpaste.
MediaCom and GSK had already developed a strategic platform for Aquafresh's kids' toothpastes under the banner "Learn Together, Grow Together, Brush Together". At this stage, MediaCom invited Turner Media Innovations to come on board and breathe life into the concept. The two firms came up with the creative platform "Own the bedtime moment", designed to entertain mums and kids and to educate them on good oral care in a fun way using the "Nurdles".
Turner created an activation plan to take the idea to market, with activity centring on a two-minute song called the Nurdle Schmurdle, which would air every night at 6.58pm on Cartoonito. The programme featured the Nurdles and a group of kids demonstrating how to brush teeth properly. They sang a toothbrushing song and performed a dance that mums and children were encouraged to repeat at home. The creative was produced entirely by Turner, with consultancy Kids Industries helping with some of the characterisation.
Content was streamed onto the Cartoonito website, enabling parents to download the song. The Nurdles also appeared across other media, visited London Zoo and local supermarkets and starred in their own storybook. They also made monthly appearances in BBC magazines in a series of advertorials.
Aquafresh is now the UK's leading toothpaste brand. But most impressive is that while the overall kids' toothpaste market increased £2.2m in one year, Aquafresh's kids' range contributed £2.1m to that growth.
The Nurdle Schmurdle also proved a ratings success for Turner, matching the viewing figures of many of Cartoonito's most popular programmes.
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