US Women’s National Team player Megan Rapinoe fronts a comic new marketing campaign for Unilever’s Schmidt’s Natural which offers a funny twist on stereotypical deodorant brand advertising.
The marketing push, running under the brand’s #MadeForEveryone platform, urges viewers to ‘Switch to Schmidt’s and smell like a champ’ and to ‘join soccer megastar Megan Rapinoe and crush F.O.B.O. (Fear of Body Odour) with a natural deodorant that actually works’.
The campaign, created by Edelman, was led by a hero spot and supported by digital and social content – including amplification on the soccer star’s own personal social platforms.
The 30-second spearheaded spot sees the Unilever brand athlete endorser and activist Rapinoe help combat FOBO. It opens with the USWNT forward in a locker room paraphrasing the Old Spice marketing line “look at me”, before referencing other gender-specific deodorant ad tropes including Secret’s “strong enough for” tagline.
The ad closes with Rapinoe urging people to switch to Schmidt’s “because everyone deserves to smell like victory”.
The campaign emerged from 2021 brand research which found that 79% of people ages 18-35 report feeling anxious about their body odor.
The lead ad, which launched on 17 March, was supported by a 15-second cut down version and a set of digital and earned/unearned social content, plus, to incentivise fans to join Rapinoe and switch to Schmidt’s, the campaign also included a 1,000 full-size samples giveaway for consumers registering at Schmidts.com/switch.
Hey @IsaiahMustafa, there’s a new spice in town that’s #MadeForEveryone — we’ve even got a stick of @SchmidtsNatural with your name on it. Check it: https://t.co/Rg4jzNbJAA #SchmidtsPartner pic.twitter.com/DQV1Gdut8v
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) March 17, 2021
“Megan is known for challenging the status quo. We couldn’t think of a better partner to flip antiquated and stereotypical tropes on their head,” said Mollie Crudden of Schmidt’s Naturals.
The campaign was created by a team at agency Edelman which included a creative group which included Jimmie Stone (Chief Creative Officer, North America), Megan Skelly (EVP, Executive Creative Director), Matt Zavala (SVP, Group Creative Director), Schuyler Higgins (Senior Art Director), Derek Froude (Associate Creative Director, Copy), Jasen Wong (Senior Copywriter) and Morgan Peterson (Copywriter).
Production was handled by Ari Pomerantz (SVP, Executive Producer), Denise Sante (Senior Producer) and Hazel Popplewell (VP, Production Business Director).
The accounts team included Keren Kazam (Executive Vice President), Adam Bricault (Senior Vice President), Katie Racanelli (Vice President), Molly Rowlett (Account Supervisor), Rona Horowitz (Senior Account Executive), Nikki Bracci (Assistant Account Executive), plus Billie Kolinsky (Assistant Account Executive).
The planning and strategy unit included Jeremy Busch (SVP Planning), Lauren Rosas (Planner), Aly Blake (Senior Communications Planner) and Liza Padellaro (Senior Account Supervisor),
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