Only 7% of men use facial wash. The rest still use body soap for their face. Pond’s Men saw this as an untapped opportunity and was out to aggressively recruit users into the men’s care face category.

This led to the successful launch of Pond’s Men in 2014. It immediately established itself as a big player in men’s skin care, as it harped on the power of the Pond’s masterbrand. While Pond’s Men had no issues on brand awareness, its aggressive competitors still compelled Pond’s Men to differentiate itself.

In 2015, Pond’s Men wanted to sustain momentum by aiming for 50% growth, sourcing it from non-facial wash users.

To achieve this, we needed to communicate Pond’s Men’s unique energizing benefit to digitally-savvy working men.

Filipino men strive to succeed in the workplace, and believe that looking good gives them the edge. However, city life impedes their quest for success. Stress, pollution, heat, and traffic leave them feeling and looking haggard.

Since most working men are commuters, Pond’s Men zeroed in on a bus stop to show the haggard effects of the city.

Pond’s Men dressed up a bus stop located in the middle of the busiest highway in Manila. It had a seemingly static print ad featuring Xian Lim, which was programmed to react every time it was subjected to pollution, sun, and heat. This surprised the men waiting for the bus. At the end of each scenario, Xian washed his face with Pond’s Men. In doing so, the bus stop simultaneously released a cooling mist, which gave off an energizing experience comparable to the benefit of the product.

Using The City As Our Advertising Canvas

Several channels in the city were carefully chosen to communicate to these haggard men. These conveyed a customized message per platform, intending to be within context to the men’s situations.

Amplifying The Message Online

A bus stop had the seemingly static print ad featuring Filipino celebrity, Xian Lim, in the middle of Manila’s busiest avenue. It was programmed to react to haggard moments, surprising men waiting for the bus. These were captured on film amplified digitally for massive reach and engagement.

Engaging Users With Haggard Digital Body Language

On Facebook, all messages were in context. “Traffic” messaging appeared only during rush hour and “overtime” messaging after-office hours.

On Twitter, Pond’s Men responded with #GetEnergized tips to men who tweeted haggard-related keywords. On Waze, a banner appeared while users were stuck in heavy traffic to remind men to use Pond’s Men to feel energized.