Every Drop Counts

The message was simple: Colgate asked every American to turn off the faucet while brushing, because every drop of water counts. It's the kind of message that feels right coming from one of the world’s biggest and most responsible brands.

The campaign was powered by a thought-provoking insight: People don’t realize that brushing their teeth with the faucet running wastes up to 4 gallons of water. That’s more than some people use in a week.

In the build-up to the game, the video was seeded with influencers and news networks. News articles alone generated 2.4 billion impressions.

With the issue firmly in the spotlight, we drove online views combined with YouTube interactivity cards. People could share the video or pledge their support on the Colgate website. 30,000 signed up in the first week, giving us an engaged community for future save water initiatives.

During the game Colgate activated its real-time center, responding live to the companies and celebrities who pledged their support through our every drop counts hashtag.

In the week after the game, the spot was sought out and viewed online over 15 million times, and actively shared by another 155,000 people: unprecedented numbers for oral care advertising.

And last but not least, we integrated the message onto a media that reaches over 50% of US homes every month: Colgate packaging.

So did the gamble pay off? 

The PR impact alone justified the decision. But it was the effect on Colgate brand perceptions that really took everyone by surprise. Tracking showed significant uplifts in emotional bond (+7%), likeability (+11%) and commitment (+14%) in the first week alone after the spot aired, while reversing any perceptions of being old-fashioned (-13%).

And most important of all: in the first full month after the spot aired, Colgate became the no.1 toothpaste brand in the US for the first time in 4 years. And at time of submission, we’re still on top. 

All from an innovative use of a traditional medium. Not bad for a Super Bowl rookie.