2012 Silver Best launch campaign

Client Lynx, Unilever UK

How did the campaign make a difference? This work demonstrated the anarchic fallout created by giving girls the ‘Lynx Effect’ for the first time, both in the real world and online. Everywhere our fans looked, there was chaos. Digital and experiential activity helped add meat to the bones of a great TV campaign.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Lynx was launching its first-ever female variant. The TV launch demonstrated the Lynx Effect by showing the chaos caused when men and women wearing Lynx came into contact. This multiphase campaign continued by making it feel like this chaos was a pandemic, spreading up and down the country. It started with a rumour stage, seeding out little bits of content to get people talking, followed by a real-life chaotic occurrence at launch, and finally, a breaking news-style report on the chaos caused. The ubiquity, defined phases and approach to content created an engaging platform. It encouraged fans to submit their own chaos sightings and become part of the activity.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? To create intrigue and demand before launch, this work targeted bloggers and key influencers to leak information about Lynx Attract, starting the rumour mill. A black market can of Lynx Attract was sold on eBay. Facebook fans were offered 100 exclusive cans before it hit the shops. The launch saw an outbreak of chaos at a real-life launch event with model Abbey Clancy, spurring an in-store flash snog by spraying the two fragrances. Chaos sightings were recorded online via Chaos Watch, which pulled in tweets, photos, videos and more, with another flash snog on a bus and a series of short films to show the epidemic spreading. It tapped into real world trends, like a news story about a woman falling in love with the Statue of Liberty trending on Twitter. The cause? Lynx Attract. The final phase aligned with the TVC: Lynx social spaces urged fans to 'stay safe' and avoid using Lynx Attract.

Results The blogging community reviewed the product. In-store launches generated unprecedented PR coverage. The brand/product reached over 5.3 million people on Twitter and received over 9,000 online mentions. Lynx Attract For Her became Superdrug’s second-fastest selling product and captured 24% of the female body spray market. Lynx Attract For Him became Superdrug’s third-best selling product and the brand's second-highest selling product overall. The launch added 157,000 fans Lynx Facebook fans (a 22% uplift), with 46,000 new likes and 15,000 comments.

Team Susannah Clark, Graeme Noble, Mia Matulic, Jeff Bowerman, Beth Hockley, Jenny Taylor, Alex King, Mike Phillips