2021 Winner
BronzeBest in Brand Integration
Johnson & Johnson
"Neutrogena Drag Race: Celebrating Your Inner Queen"
UM & Bell Media
"Neutrogena Drag Race: Celebrating Your Inner Queen"
UM & Bell Media
In 2020, the brand needed to drive awareness and desire for Neutrogena’s All-in-One Make-up Removing Cleansing Wipes by communicating the superior make-up removal efficacy of their wipes. But they set their sights on more: deepening their relationship with users.
Neutrogena, which sells at a price premium, needed to strengthen its brand position to become the preferred product in Canada. Wipes users were being lured away by control labels and other branded competitors offering lower price points. So, how do you help Neutrogena stand out against the competition and convince users to think of them for all their gentle makeup removal needs? You find the ultimate make-up users to put Neutrogena to the test: the drag Queens of Canada.
The key to a beautiful Queen is the best make-up. But when the show is over, it’s time to take it all off. The agency wanted the Queens of Canada to show that Neutrogena Makeup Removing Wipes were the best product on the market. But also that Neutrogena understood - despite living in a society that glamorizes and legitimizes the use of make-up - that while makeup comes off,
a “Queen’s colour” always stays on.
They set out to build a media strategy that would allow Neutrogena Wipes to stand out from the pack, while deepening brand relevance and preference. They needed to zig when the market zagged. They needed to find a way for consumers to have a meaningful engagement with the brand. They decided to become the official Makeup Remover of a buzzworthy new series ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ to communicate how Neutrogena Wipes can gently and effectively remove even the most elaborate makeup
looks with just one wipe!
At a time when a plethora of beauty brands are fighting for SOV, how do you make the consumer take notice of your product? The agency helped Neutrogena build an entirely unique branded content strategy powered by an innovative partnership with Bell Media to become the official make-up remover of Canada’s Drag Race. The Washington Post stated that “RuPaul’s Drag Race is more than a TV Show. It’s a movement.” So when Neutrogena heard the Emmy-award winning show was coming to Canada they strapped on their wigs and put on their heels to get on board.
Central to their exciting approach, they leveraged competing drag Queens through compelling, custom ‘de dragging’ videos for Digital and Social amplification.
Neutrogena Wipes appeared in-show with packaging naturally placed throughout the Queens’ ‘werkroom’ and featured product usage by the Queens when removing their makeup.
They produced :30s and :15s ‘de-dragging’ videos with two Queens, Priyanka and Juiceboxx, who recreated and removed iconic looks from the Canada’s Drag Race season. The :30s and :15s promo spots were amplified across Bell Media digital properties, Canada’s Drag Race social handles,
and Crave social handles.
The campaign also provided a full-funnel experience by completing the purchase loop via custom paid social amplification, where all spots were first amplified through social media with a call to action that drove consumers directly to Amazon for purchase of product.
This unique brand integration brought two innovations to life. First, the very inception of the integration was highly innovative. Doing a TV integration that was 100% on connected TV (streaming) with a show brand-new to Canada was a bold move, as well as a first for the genre where they had no audience numbers or idea on how it would either perform or resonate with Canadian audiences. Secondly, Neutrogena took a bold step to break the shackles of traditional beauty industry convention by creating a media platform that glamourized make-up removal, while simultaneously
celebrating inclusivity.
For the first time ever, the Neutrogena brand steered away from standard beauty stereotypes and showcased their strong brand values through featuring a community (LGBTQ) not considered mainstream to the category. This integration elevated the voice and support of the LGBTQ community within Canada as well as the support and voice for understanding people and their vibrant personas.
The Neutrogena brand integration was a stunning success. Canada’s Drag Race was the #2 show of all time for first 7-day streams (only behind Game of Thrones Finale) and averaged 200k streams per episode. Pre-Roll videos averaged a 95% VTR, exceeding benchmarks by 7% and delivered 1.5MM impressions. Paid Social Amplification delivered 1.8MM impressions and exceeded expectations with content watched 2x longer than benchmarks and users 27% more likely to click. Viewers were highly engaged with the content showing lots of organic engagement (organic engagement: 55,545;
organic video views: 197,915).
Every once in a while a perfect fit comes along and Neutrogena nimbly capitalized on this opportunity to create an industry-first brand integration, to drive business and to support the brand’s commitment to inclusivity. They are already excited about bringing this new media platform back
to the stage next year.
Neutrogena, which sells at a price premium, needed to strengthen its brand position to become the preferred product in Canada. Wipes users were being lured away by control labels and other branded competitors offering lower price points. So, how do you help Neutrogena stand out against the competition and convince users to think of them for all their gentle makeup removal needs? You find the ultimate make-up users to put Neutrogena to the test: the drag Queens of Canada.
The key to a beautiful Queen is the best make-up. But when the show is over, it’s time to take it all off. The agency wanted the Queens of Canada to show that Neutrogena Makeup Removing Wipes were the best product on the market. But also that Neutrogena understood - despite living in a society that glamorizes and legitimizes the use of make-up - that while makeup comes off,
a “Queen’s colour” always stays on.
They set out to build a media strategy that would allow Neutrogena Wipes to stand out from the pack, while deepening brand relevance and preference. They needed to zig when the market zagged. They needed to find a way for consumers to have a meaningful engagement with the brand. They decided to become the official Makeup Remover of a buzzworthy new series ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ to communicate how Neutrogena Wipes can gently and effectively remove even the most elaborate makeup
looks with just one wipe!
At a time when a plethora of beauty brands are fighting for SOV, how do you make the consumer take notice of your product? The agency helped Neutrogena build an entirely unique branded content strategy powered by an innovative partnership with Bell Media to become the official make-up remover of Canada’s Drag Race. The Washington Post stated that “RuPaul’s Drag Race is more than a TV Show. It’s a movement.” So when Neutrogena heard the Emmy-award winning show was coming to Canada they strapped on their wigs and put on their heels to get on board.
Central to their exciting approach, they leveraged competing drag Queens through compelling, custom ‘de dragging’ videos for Digital and Social amplification.
Neutrogena Wipes appeared in-show with packaging naturally placed throughout the Queens’ ‘werkroom’ and featured product usage by the Queens when removing their makeup.
They produced :30s and :15s ‘de-dragging’ videos with two Queens, Priyanka and Juiceboxx, who recreated and removed iconic looks from the Canada’s Drag Race season. The :30s and :15s promo spots were amplified across Bell Media digital properties, Canada’s Drag Race social handles,
and Crave social handles.
The campaign also provided a full-funnel experience by completing the purchase loop via custom paid social amplification, where all spots were first amplified through social media with a call to action that drove consumers directly to Amazon for purchase of product.
This unique brand integration brought two innovations to life. First, the very inception of the integration was highly innovative. Doing a TV integration that was 100% on connected TV (streaming) with a show brand-new to Canada was a bold move, as well as a first for the genre where they had no audience numbers or idea on how it would either perform or resonate with Canadian audiences. Secondly, Neutrogena took a bold step to break the shackles of traditional beauty industry convention by creating a media platform that glamourized make-up removal, while simultaneously
celebrating inclusivity.
For the first time ever, the Neutrogena brand steered away from standard beauty stereotypes and showcased their strong brand values through featuring a community (LGBTQ) not considered mainstream to the category. This integration elevated the voice and support of the LGBTQ community within Canada as well as the support and voice for understanding people and their vibrant personas.
The Neutrogena brand integration was a stunning success. Canada’s Drag Race was the #2 show of all time for first 7-day streams (only behind Game of Thrones Finale) and averaged 200k streams per episode. Pre-Roll videos averaged a 95% VTR, exceeding benchmarks by 7% and delivered 1.5MM impressions. Paid Social Amplification delivered 1.8MM impressions and exceeded expectations with content watched 2x longer than benchmarks and users 27% more likely to click. Viewers were highly engaged with the content showing lots of organic engagement (organic engagement: 55,545;
organic video views: 197,915).
Every once in a while a perfect fit comes along and Neutrogena nimbly capitalized on this opportunity to create an industry-first brand integration, to drive business and to support the brand’s commitment to inclusivity. They are already excited about bringing this new media platform back
to the stage next year.
Credits
UM/J3:Alisha Webber-Manager, Connection Planning
Deena Markus-Investments Director
Claire Megahey-Investments Supervisor
Beverly Almeida- Senior Planner, Connection Planning
Samantha Catherwood-Senior Director, Connection Planning
Bell Media:
Max Kopanygin, Producer/ Editor, Bell Media
Claudia Abate, Senior Producer, Branded Entertainment, Bell Media
Manny Groneveldt, Director & Executive Producer, Entertainment Production, Bell Media
Dave Caporicci, Director, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media
Shannon Mckinley, Senior Manager, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media
Lindsay Durk, Manager, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media
Pamela Vretos, Manager, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media
Robin Wiltshire, Account Executive, Digital, Bell Media
Jonathan Simon, Social Media Strategy Manager, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media
J&J Clients:
Tim Boughtflower- Squad Lead for Neutrogena
Adam Walker-Senior Brand Manager for Neutrogena (he has moved onto Neostrata now)
Juliet Choi- Neutrogena Brand Manager
Ryley Keating-Neutrogena Assistant Brand Manager on Cleansers