Tide
"Cold Callers"
Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi NY
Role
Strategist
Year
2019
Scope
360°Creative Campaign Ecosystem
Awards
1x Gold + 1x Bronze Cannes Lions, 2x Bronze Effies, 1× One Show Green Pencil, 2x Wood D&AD Pencils
Context
Up to 90% of a washing machine's energy goes to heating water, and decades of laundry advertising taught America that hot water = clean clothes. But Tide works as well in cold as the bargain brand does in hot. So under P&G's Ambition 2030 initiative, the brand set a goal: turn three of every four American loads to cold within the decade, the emissions equivalent of taking a 1M cars off the road.
Challenge
We weren't just telling people something new; we were asking them to break lifelong laundry habits. And a generic "save the planet" message wouldn't do it: years of research prove the gap between how much people say they care about the environment and how much they'll actually give up for it.
Strategy
The environmental case was real but the least persuasive reason to change. What moves behavior is making the new habit feel effortless, credible, and normal. So instead of asking people to do something good for the planet, we showed them the undeniable benefit for themselves: washing cold saves about $100 a year on electricity and cleans just as well. It was nonsense not to.
Creative
We turned “cold” into the casting strategy. “Cold Callers” put Ice-T and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin behind the phones, calling the coldest names in pop culture, from Vanilla Ice to Ice Cube—to spread the word. The campaign launched on Tide’s 75th birthday across TV, digital, social, radio, and retail, becoming the anchor of the multi-year #TurnToCold platform with new spots featuring the NFL, Annie Murphy, Mark Messier, and Gordon Ramsay.
