In January of 2007, Caress launched Exotic Oil Infusions, a premium sub-line of body washes targeting the experiential, ultra-feminine consumer. The line was designed around the insight that exotic women are mysterious; enchanting those around them without even trying. The concept struck a chord with the Caress woman, who is irresistibly drawn to uncovering beauty secrets that bring out her unique allure. This insight resonated particularly well with our key Hispanic target. Caress set out to bring this mysterious and exotic new product line to life with our Hispanic consumer by connecting with her emotionally through one of her passion points, telenovelas. To support of the launch of Caress Exotic Oil Infusions in the Hispanic market, Caress and Univision.com jointly produced a groundbreaking interactive novela entitled Mi Adorada Malena (My Beloved Malena), which fully integrated the brand into the storyline. Univision is the undisputed leader in the U.S. in Spanish language media, reaching 99% of U.S. Hispanics. Univision’s telenovelas are a cultural phenomenon, frequently getting ratings equivalent to the Superbowl (among Hispanics). Mi Adorada Malena was Univision’s first novela ever to air on Univision.com. The six-episode novela celebrated strong and enchanting Latinas and featured the Caress Exotic Oil Infusions body washes that help women unleash their own mysterious and enchanting sides. Mi Adorada Malena incorporated the drama, intrigue and romance typical of the genre, while introducing Caress Exotic Oil Infusions body wash as a key element to the plot. The drama focused on “Malena Ferreira”, a strong, beautiful and exotic woman who is also a famous Caress spokesmodel. “Leonardo Del Castillo” was Malena’s fiancée, and a prominent psychiatrist who had a secret to hide. “Cristobal Carvajal”/”Mateo” was Malena’s secret admirer who took on a dangerous job that impacted the outcome of the story. The story unfolded through 6 weekly online episodes of 4 to 8 minutes each. The novela was truly interactive and allowed viewers to interact with the episodes, characters and the Caress brand like never before. For the first-time ever in Univision’s novela history, viewers were able to vote on one of two alternate endings and choose what they thought was the best fate for the lead character. Other exciting elements included forums, character profiles, free sample giveaways of the new Caress Exotic Oil Infusions body washes and a weekly sweepstakes with a grand-prize three-day trip to NYC to see Hispanic pop star, Anais, perform. Weekly :60 and :30 teaser spots gave Univision’s TV viewers a sneak peak at each episode, and drove them to online to see the full episodes. Weekly radio spots, rich media online advertising, print advertising, mobile text reminders, a heavy PR blitz, and in-store communication also drove viewers online to view the episodes. Univision’s audience fell in love with Malena! As a result, the program culminated in all 6 online episodes being edited together and aired as a one hour network TV special on Univision!

And the results for Caress were magical!

Caress Body Wash sales among Hispanics increased 37% vs. the prior year!97% of website visitors really liked or somewhat liked the website, 82% of visitors were extremely likely or very likely to tell a friend about the site, and 90% of them were much more likely or somewhat more likely to purchase Caress!

The buzz was extraordinary! The campaign exceeded its PR benchmarks by 250%!