German skin care company Beiersdorf is trying to corner the market on kisses. That’s right, kisses. The beauty care company is working with Omnicom agency TBWAChiatDay New York on an integrated advertising campaign that promotes its latest line of Nivea Lip Care, as the key to great smooches.
The $30 million integrated US campaign features online advertising and social media, along with broadcast, print and event sponsorship. Lip care is a new category for the brand in the US and the goal of the effort is to connect it to pop culture. The campaign builds on the Nivea body “Touch and Be Touched” slogan, this time turning the sentiment into “Kiss and Be Kissed” for Nivea Lip Care.
“Typically, advertising that you see about lip care products focuses on the medical benefit of lipcare use, but we wanted to create a more emotional connection for people,” said James Cheung, creative director at TBWAChiatDay New York. “Nivea becomes the proprietor of kissable lips.”
On October 2, Nivea will run a content hub on Yahoo to promote its Flickr kissing gallery contest. The contest calls on people to post photos of themselves kissing, and vote and comment on the most kissable photos. Winners of the kissing contest will be flown to New York for a Times Square New Year’s Eve party. The social component will also be spread on Facebook with widgets, as well as a microsite for the product.
“Because of the nature of kissing — it is quite personal — it makes sense for people to be able to share them with their friends,” explained Daniel Bennett, digital account director at TBWAChiatDay New York.
The three 15-second TV ads feature the song “First Kiss” by Duffy and show people experiencing different kinds of kisses. In “First Kiss,” two young lovers share their first kiss as they say goodnight at the woman’s doorstep. In “Balcony,” a man leaps from his apartment balcony to kiss a woman, and in “Hideaway,” a married couple make out in the coat closet of a restaurant.
The campaign will also include in-store campaigns with imagery similar to the TV ads. The campaign runs through March and will include a social media Valentine’s Day campaign.
