When a brand returns to its roots, the exploration can lend itself to powerful creative that can transcend generations –and there’s no brand richer with heritage and iconic assets than Mr. Clean, the man himself. After all, he is the icon who inspired a legendary clean.

THE BIG IDEA: Celebrate the man who helps tackle the most seemingly impossible messes with the launch of an online casting call. After nearly 60 years of being tough on dirt all around the house, Mr. Clean is looking for a replacement while he takes a much-deserved vacation… The Search is on for #TheNextMrClean.

As the brand premiered its new TV spot featuring a revamp of its classic jingle, we locked marketing and trade exclusives. The landscape was primed to tee up the search for #TheNextMrClean. It would have millennials and media #lol and want to be a part of the circus.

• Pre-seeded entertainment media with “leaked” footage of actor Kellan Lutz auditioning for a mysterious role

• On September 7, #TheNextMrClean search was officially announced with the debut of Kellan’s full video at a live casting call in New York doubling as a media event

• Issued Mr. Clean “selfie” kits with bald cap, earring and Magic Eraser to media and influencers

• Posts from Mario Lopez, Sean Lowe and Andy Cohen encouraged their fans to audition

• Activated YouTube sensations to “live” report audition experiences

• Enabled real-time response team to monitor for opportunities to organically insert Mr. Clean into the conversation

Within 24 hours of launch, the icon was referenced on the Tonight Show’s NFL Superlatives. The team quickly engaged Denver Broncos DeMarcus Ware (“The Black Mr. Clean”) to participate in our Mr. Clean selfie strategy.

Press coverage heated up, including a story from Huffington Post reporter Ron Dicker, as he shared why he himself would be entering the contest!

The tipping point of the campaign was hitting the PR Holy Grail, when Jimmy Fallon organically highlighted #TheNextMrClean in his opening monologue.

On the heels of this success, we engaged NFL star, Rob Gronkowski to drive awareness of the search among his fans via social selfies, triggering additional coverage in USA Today and Forbes. Additional mentions included a Mr. Clean shout out in Huffington Post’s 13 Biggest Brand Mascot Stories of 2016.

Ultimately, Georgia native Mike Jackson was selected as #TheNextMrClean. Jackson won $20,000 and a large supply of Magic Erasers, starred in a 2017 limited edition Mr. Clean calendar and joined Mr. Clean as he made his ad debut at Super Bowl LI in Houston.

The campaign generated 1.4 billion+ quality media impressions with a PR recall of 44%. Media relations efforts turned consumer sentiment around – cementing Mr. Clean’s pop culture icon status with millennials.

Mr. Clean grew volume share of the all-purpose cleaner category by 13% in August 2016 and its consumption trended above 105 vs. one year ago. Additionally, the total Mr. Clean business was up 3% in volume sales in the 13 weeks after launch.