The first assignment P&G briefed us on was the creation of a new campaign for Ariel, the laundry detergent launched in 1977 following the successful introduction of P&G’s high foam detergent, Tide, back in 1957. Ariel was a low foam powder product that was meant to exploit the popularity of automatic washing machines and enzyme detergents. This new brand was specially formulated to offer superior cleaning and stubborn stain removal.
Ariel was first imported into Saudi Arabia, which became the first Arab market to sell the brand. Then, in 1976, Ariel was finally launched via a Dammam-based manufacturing plant operating under the name Modern Industries Company, which was a joint venture between P&G and its Saudi distributor, Ismail Abou Daoud.
Saudi washing habits had been very traditional, lengthy, and difficult before Ariel. It consisted of several steps, starting with boiling, soaking, bleaching, and adding a bluing agent, then rinsing and drying online in the sun. The growth of drum washing machines was extremely slow. Ariel was much more expensive than other detergents, including the market leader, Tide. To cap it all was the challenge of low literacy and the lack of audio-visual media. Ariel was launched in the pre-commercial TV days and became the first laundry detergent to be advertised on Saudi TV when it started airing commercials in 1986. P&G’s advertising philosophy of adapting copy that had worked elsewhere was put to test in the Kingdom by dubbing an international commercial in Arabic and airing it. Luckily Saudi TV was very stingy in allowing enough advertising commercials during the limited number of breaks per day. The Ariel commercial managed to secure its share of these scattered advertising slots.
So, when Intermarkets appeared on the scene, this commercial had been on air for a long time, and – in P&G language – new copy was long overdue but had been delayed due to the agency change. Ariel was sold, with a ‘superior cleaning’ promise. The detergent that cleans and removes spots other detergents leave behind. Thanks to its advanced formula. As we were still very much inspired by the lessons we had learnt during the recent visit to Geneva, our creative team began brainstorming to develop a story in which a newlywed young wife was being visited by her elder, more experienced sister. The sharp observant sister quickly picks up the spots on the table cover, so she questions her sister about the detergent she’s using, then takes her down to the nearby grocery to buy a pack of Ariel and use it. Then the commercial was to show the P&G required side-by-side comparison, ending with Ariel being celebrated by a bold selling-statement, delivered in a warm male voice over the neatly designed super.
When we felt ready to present our proposal, we checked with Geneva on the possibility of bouncing our concept at Transmediterranean S.A.L., (Transmed) the distributors of P&G in Lebanon. Our question seems to have triggered a stiff reaction from the new client, as they were surprised that we were not informed during our Geneva orientation visit that the marketing function rests totally in the hands of the manufacturer. The thought of consulting with the local distributor was instantly shelved and the storyboard was presented to Bill Bowld and the Ariel brand management team, who reacted saying that the storyline was déjàvu, since Ariel had had a commercial based on a similar story running for a long period. Bowld explained that – as the new agency on the brand – we should not feel inhibited to look at other Ariel campaigns that had worked well in other markets. He helped us look at old Ariel TV pools and we quickly settled on one that featured a housewife washing with another detergent (this according to P&G production guidelines is to be achieved by showing a box of a competitor brand that carries exactly the same shape and colors as the main competitor but having the brand name replaced by a fictional name, written in the same font and typographic style). As the housewife removes a white shirt from the washing machine, she hears a voice. She looks up trying to identify the source, and the voice asks if she is happy with her wash? As she nods her head in confirmation, the voice asks her to raise the shirt towards the light. She then sees the stains that remained after the wash. She is then instructed by this invisible speaker to wash again using Ariel, and the stubborn stains are removed. Bowld encouraged us to produce the same commercial, explaining that in the P&G film library this TVC carried the name “Voice of God” and had delivered superb results wherever it was used.
Khalil Ghammache flew to Beirut and the agency team learned a great deal about P&G’s process of casting, talent contracts and the disciplines of participating on set. Our creative director accompanied Ghammache to Studio Baalbek, where they spent two days on the edit and the synchronization of the sound with the picture. Finally, I was invited to view the rough cut on the Moviola table before Khalil carried the result to Geneva for final approval from the senior team. After which he would only draw the release copies. During this entire process our network agencies were anxiously awaiting the receipt of the new Ariel commercial to push the button on our first campaign for this prestigious new client. When the tempo of questioning on method of dispatch and anticipated delivery intensified, another flare of temper loss was received from Bill Bowld. This time he sent his message to all P&G account handlers in the various Intermarkets agencies, explaining that no new commercial goes on air before the preparation of a “Day After Recall” (DAR) study is put in place with one of its accredited research organizations. P&G requires its ad agencies to keep a record of the unprompted recall that a new TV commercial scores the day after its first airing. The research also covers prompted recalls of the main promise, the reason why such a promise is to be believed, and other relevant specifics to the campaign objectives. This way the agency can track its own progress on delivering the brand promise and other aspects that score its communication skills. The research is conducted over the phone amongst a random sample representing the brand’s target public.
The Voice of God scored:
91 per cent overall related recall
88 per cent recall of main copy points
83 per cent recall on situation points
75 per cent recall on stain removal
This was the first sign that Intermarkets’ learning process and creative energy had reached a level acceptable to P&G.