Direct > Direct: Sectors
DE LA CRUZ & ASSOCIATES, Guaynabo / HUGGIES / 2021
Overview
Credits
Why is this work relevant for Direct?
The creation of The Pelushirts was inspired by a powerful insight that is very relevant for newborn moms, and that is that the smell of mothers is a natural relaxant for babies to calm their separation anxiety. With that in mind, we teamed up with Huggies and created The Pelushirts, which are sleep shirts for moms to wear at night that turn into beautiful plush toys impregnated with her soothing smell to give them to their babies and make them feel like she's there with them, even if she's not.
Background
Separation anxiety in babies is a normal process in their development when they gain a sense of object permanence. That’s why when moms leave them momentarily, whether it is at the cradle, with a relative or at a day care, they start to cry uncontrollably out of fear because they don’t know how long they’ll be gone and that makes them feel vulnerable. This is very common during the first months when moms spend most of the time with them. And while it’s a developmental milestone, it is undoubtedly heartbreaking for both babies and moms. As a home remedy, pediatricians recommend mom's to leave a blanket or a worn t-shirt that smells like her to calm their newborns separation anxiety. That's where we saw an opportunity to develop a new product that would make life easier for both babies and moms.
Describe the creative idea
Pelushirts® partnered with Huggies® and conceived The Pelushirts®, a sleepshirt collection for moms to wear at night-time that folds into a stuffed animal with her soothing smell to give it to their babies during daytime, while they’re away. This helps the child to feel as close to their moms as possible by giving them an item of clothing that smells like her disguised as a toy to hug. The Pelushirts® have pockets on the front of the sleepshirt that hides the adorable characters inside. That way, when moms take off their nightwear in the morning, they can fold it and put it through the central pocket to stuff the characters and keep their soothing smell inside. The Pelushirts® were endorsed by pediatricians as a comfortable prescription to calm separation anxiety in babies by combining science and cuteness.
Describe the strategy
When it comes to separation anxiety, the struggle is real for babies.There are hundreds of mommy blogs and YouTube videos where moms, pediatricians and child psychologists talk about this issue and what can be done to minimize it. And while there are several techniques to calm separation anxiety in babies, there was no product designed specifically for this difficult stage. That's why the Pelushirts were created to be a toy with a very specific purpose: to help babies and moms. To create buzz about them, we sent The Pelushirts to several mom influencers so they could try them on and use them on their babies, and it was an instant hit. Thousands of moms asking where they could get Pelushirts because they really needed them. Based on that response, The Pelushirts are going to become from a limited edition promo item to a mass production item in collaboration with Huggies.
Describe the execution
The Pelushirts were designed with moms and babies in mind.That's why they were designed with ultra soft, hypoallergenic fabric, which also absorbs better the scent of mothers. The Pelushirts have a pocket on the front of the sleep shirt that hides the adorable characters inside. That way, when moms take off their sleep shirts in the morning, they can fold it and put it through the central pocket to stuff the Pelushirts and keep their smell inside. The Pelushirts characters were inspired by some of the most maternal animals in the word: The Llama, The Octopus, The Kangaroo, The Seal and The Porcupine. The Pelushirts were a limited edition promotional item and were available to be ordered @ Instagram as a prescription to soothe separation anxiety.
List the results
The Pelushirts were an instant hit with moms, helping them deal with a real problem that affected both them and their babies. To launch Pelushirts we used several Puerto Rican influencers who are mothers and showed their audience how the product worked with their babies. On the first day of launch, all the Pelushirts were sold out, so the Huggies brand decided to continue its support and they will be part of a new line in its portfolio of products to help babies and moms.
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