Why dirt is good
The objective
The campaign was created to communicate the Persil brand's philosophy that children should be given the freedom to be creative – which leads to their learning and development – without worrying about getting dirty.
The concept
Primary schools that register with the scheme receive a teachers' resource pack developed in conjunction with “Campaign For Drawing” and are given the opportunity to enter the prestigious Persil “Hands-on Art Awards” in April 2005. In addition to this, Persil have made available over £7million worth of arts and crafts materials for schools.
For the first time children were also able to collect tokens for arts and crafts materials to use at home – and with the minimum redemption at one token, they could start collecting straight away!
As well as the traditional route of advertising, the campaign involved many activities, including sponsorship of “The Big Draw” for the second year running.
The insight
The Persil team wanted to encourage creativity at a key learning stage (ages 4-11), so we started by talking to teachers and mothers. Unsurprisingly education was high on everyone's list.
Activities that nurture children’s creativity and further their development are always welcome, and this was an area in which the Persil team felt it could make a positive contribution. We consulted National Curriculum advisors to ensure that the materials provided by the scheme would be relevant to the schools’ goals.
A winning partnership
The Persil team built on the success of the 2003 campaign to reach beyond schools to a wider audience. “The Big Draw” launch event transformed London's Trafalgar Square into a giant sketchpad with high-profile guest artists Quentin Blake and Rolf Harris running workshops and demonstrating their skills. The event broke all records and an estimated 40 000 people took part. There were also over 1 100 “Big Draw” events taking place nationwide – in total, more than 150 000 people attended.
Persil also hosted its very own nationwide events where kids got to create a ‘Messterpiece’. Over three million people attended, and 15 000 families are now the proud owners of a special certificate featuring a photo of their child with their Messterpiece.
The communication
In 2004, Persil launched a communications plan that included:
- A daytime TV campaign
- A 'school-run' radio campaign
- A direct mail to schools
- Cinema advertising – the first detergent to use this medium in the UK
- Lesson plans that could be downloaded from a bespoke micro site.
The results
The "Get Creative" scheme has made a hugely positive contribution to society. It has given schools much-needed materials and children a place to use them.
Schools
So far, over 28 000 schools have registered, massively exceeding the target. Tokens from over 500 000 packs have been redeemed and over 5 500 free kits have already been supplied.
Teachers
The teaching pack has been very well received – research shows that four out of five teachers think the scheme is great and 40 000 lesson plans have been downloaded from the website.
Retailers
Persil formed partnerships with major retailers – Asda stores collected tokens for local schools and children's artwork was showcased in Tesco and Sainsbury's stores.
Business
The latest figures show that Persil has achieved its highest share of the laundry market for two and a half years. The drive has strengthened consumer trust in Persil and loyalty has risen. Persil’s position as the number one laundry brand has been cemented, and the gap between Persil and its nearest competitor has been extended, with sales significantly increased.
