This concern highlights a bigger category issue: Downy has been in decline for years, as the brand has failed to connect with Millennials who don't see why they should add fabric softener to their laundry routine. To save the business, and open up Downy usage to a new generation of consumers, we needed to fine a way to introduce Downy's protection benefit to the large, advertising-averse audience of Millennials.
Until we showed them what goes on inside. With a washer that spins at 90 RPM and a dryer hot enough to cook ribs, we proved to consumers that their favorite sweater deserves more protection against a bevy of elements that batter every load they wash. We accomplished this by utilizing something typically reserved for extreme sports: a GoPro. In a washing machine.
We launched the video and saw that not only was the video engaging to our typically ad-adverse audience (with over 12 million views), it helped them see why Downy fabric softener was a necessary step in protecting and prolonging the life of their clothes.
The footage was so convincing (this was a true torture test) that we even decided to run it as its own TV spot. This new spot ran in parallel with social media cinemagraphs featuring the GoPro footage and compelling facts about the harshness that happens under the hood—footage that was viewed nearly 7 million times.