Our target audience was not limited to specific age brackets. We cast a wide net, with the only demographic criteria being 'anyone who enjoys Halloween.' This meant that our audience ranged from everyone from children to senior citizens, and across all age groups.

As a product regulated by the FDA, there are regulatory limits to the claims we can make legally. This drove us to look for creative ways to tell a story and create brand awareness for Crest and Oral-B, resulting in an on-line initiative that involved a viral film that sold both products in a more general way than they are usually marketed.

For its 2013 Halloween initiative, Crest and Oral-B took a daring approach. Rather than lecture people about the dangers of indulging in eating candy, they gave consumers permission to enjoy their favorite treats, because Crest and Oral-B have you covered. To bring this bold strategy to life, they created a campaign whose central idea was taking candy away and replacing it with healthy treats. Groups of unsuspecting kids were led to believe that they would be the first to try these healthier treats. The kids couldn’t wait to sink their teeth into these delicacies, and eagerly filed into the tasting room, where an adult moderator whetted their appetite further—but there was a catch. These new replacements for traditional candies were made from bland things like seaweed, tofu, and artichokes. In short, they tasted horrible. Not surprisingly, the kids reacted in visceral ways that were totally hilarious. The film concluded with the line, “Nothing is more horrifying than Halloween without candy,” with an end card reading, “Thankfully, there’s Crest and Oral-B.” Within days, the video went viral, totaling over 7 million views, and was received media coverage from numerous networks and publications, and other media outlets.

Toothpaste is a health product that people don’t necessarily think about that much. Usually, we are confined to creating communications about it in very direct, straightforward ways. However, with 'Halloween Treats Gone Wrong', we changed the context of a health care product and created something totally unexpected. Rather than lecture people about the dangers of indulging in eating candy, we gave consumers permission to enjoy their favorite treats, because Crest and Oral-B have you covered. To bring this bold strategy to life, we created a campaign whose central idea was taking candy away and replacing it with healthy treats. Groups of unsuspecting kids were led to believe that they would be the first to try these healthier treats—but there was a catch. These replacements for candy were made from bland things like seaweed, tofu, and artichokes, and tasted horrible. Not surprisingly, the kids reacted in visceral ways that were hilarious. The film concluded with the line, “Nothing is more horrifying than Halloween without candy,” with an end card reading, “Thankfully, there’s Crest and Oral-B.” Within days, the video went viral, totaling over 7 million views, and was received media coverage from numerous networks and publications, and other media outlets