Degree, which was introduced as a unisex brand in 1990, divided into Degree Men and Degree Women in 2005, and the two lines have taken divergent advertising approaches. The ads for women’s products in recent years have tended to emphasize that they leave no marks on clothing, and to show women whose antiperspirant holds up as they work and socialize. The ads for men’s products, by contrast, have focused more on users taxing their deodorant with such physical feats as riding mountain bikes or snowboarding down precipices.
But now, Degree Men and Degree Women are being placed under the same creative umbrella, with a single campaign and a shared strategy and tag line.
The brand’s new commercials feature famous athletes — two men and two women — training in a sport other than their primary one, for both endurance and relaxation.
“My dream didn’t end in London,” says Lolo Jones, the Olympic track star, at the beginning of one of the new spots, as she is shown flying over hurdles on an indoor track. “I’m a competitor — I mean, I’m racing people when I’m walking next to them.”
The spot then shows Ms. Jones riding a bobsled — which, considering that she recently completed her first season as a member of the United States national bobsledding team, is not just recreational. It closes with a voice-over promising, “Degree — it won’t let you down,” and the tag line for the campaign: “Do:More.”
In another spot, Alex Morgan, the Olympic women’s soccer team gold medalist, is shown first kicking a ball around, then carrying a surfboard and oar to the beach for stand-up paddleboarding.
In the other ads, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks goes from the basketball court to the boxing ring, and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder goes from the court to cycling.
The campaign, by Davie Brown Entertainment, part of the Omnicom Group, will be introduced on Monday. While the creative approach in all four ads is similar, the spots end by featuring a men’s or women’s product in alignment with the athlete’s gender. Another “Do:More” commercial that does not feature celebrities shows both men and women working up a sweat.
Degree, which declined to reveal how much it intended to spend on the campaign, spent $30.6 million in 2011 and $18.2 million in the first nine months of 2012 to advertise Degree Men, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP. Degree Women spent $17.5 million in 2011 and $9 million in the first nine months of 2012.
When it was introduced 23 years ago by Helene Curtis Industries, Degree trumpeted what it called body-heat technology, which releases ingredients as body temperature rises. Degree, which was acquired by Unilever in 1996, introduced another technology across its product line in 2011: MotionSense, which activates ingredients in response to friction.
Gaston Vaneri, senior marketing director for deodorants at Unilever North America, said that because Degree was promoting the motion-activated formula in all of its products, it chose an overarching campaign that featured male and female athletes being active beyond their primary sports.
Such an approach will resonate with consumers who are increasingly cross-training, as evidenced by the popularity of triathlons and Tough Mudder, an extreme obstacle course competition, Mr. Vaneri said.
“The fact that people want to go and do more is an insight that is true for men and for women,” he said.
Because consumers worry about deodorant failing in professional and romantic situations, brands tend to highlight such anxieties in advertising, but Mr. Vaneri said the new campaign suggested efficacy in an inspirational way.
“Sweating because you’re stressed is functionally true and relevant,” he said of the typical advertising approach. “But sweating because you choose to do more with your life is also functionally true, and also feels great and is more positive, inspirational and more emotionally relevant for our consumers.”
Degree products accounted for 16.3 percent of the $2.5 billion United States deodorant market in the 52 weeks that ended Jan. 27, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a market data firm. Over that period, Degree’s revenue rose 2 percent as its unit sales fell 2.3 percent, thanks to the popularity of so-called clinical protection products, which contain more active ingredient and can cost more than double what baseline products do.
With 91 percent of Americans using deodorant, according to Mintel, there are few nonusers to win over, so charging more for more effective and innovative products has enabled Degree and other brands to grow steadily through the economic downturn.
“People are not going to grow a third arm,” Mr. Vaneri said. “This is a category that has been growing very healthily because we keep delivering better and better products.”
David Vinjamuri, author of “Accidental Branding” and an adjunct professor of marketing at New York University, said Degree’s dual-gender approach made sense.
“The more important thing than whether you’re a man or a woman is if you sweat honestly, if you earn your sweat by exercising,” he said of the campaign’s message.
While many consumers do not exercise enough, a far cry from the athletes in the commercials who cannot keep still, Mr. Vinjamuri said the ads might still resonate with the sedentary.
“They’re only going to succeed as a brand if they appeal to people who don’t do these activities themselves, but know that Degree is the brand that their friend who does ultramarathons or Ironman triathlons uses,” he said.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/business/media/degree-deodorant-introduces-unisex-ad-campaign.html?partner=rss&emc=rss