Toilet paper is a commodity that no one thinks or cares about. Which is why nearly 50% of people are leaving the bathroom feeling unsatisfied with their clean – and they're just accepting it! While the category was only selling soft and strong, we discovered a range of unmet needs being ignored. Competitors were taking a one-size-fits-all approach, speaking to people through cartoon animals, and babies, rather than acknowledging that everyone has their own needs and actually doing something about it. It was time for a brand to challenge the category and get real.

Enter Cottonelle, who set out to transform from another soft and strong wiping device to a brand that delivers on people’s unique, individual needs down there. Our ambition was to disrupt the category status quo and create a new conversation around a historically taboo subject.

As we searched for the real-life embodiment of each character, we were not looking for broad strokes. Below is an example of one character’s bio:

“Meet Connie, the Pillager of Plaque, the Crusher of Cavities, and loving mother to her twin boys and blind cat, Teefers. She’s seen the inside of more mouths than her set of 9th-generation heirloom silverware. Those who make eye contact with her feel the sudden urge to floss. While she’s renowned for keeping mouths clean, her dirty little secret is her down there, which can be harder to clean than a case of dry socket.”

To find our characters, we let go of any preconceived notions of what he or she might look or sound like, in order to find the individual who truly embodied our character and their need state.

In the few short weeks since the work launched (March 27th), we have seen very promising initial results. Our campaign has delivered 200M+ paid impressions, including earning the strongest YouTube results in the Kimberly-Clark portfolio year-to-date. Given the disruptive nature of the idea, we also drove 4.5 million positive earned impressions at launch (and growing!), setting the stage for a new conversation. Consumer interest was piqued as well, creating a 246% jump in website visits. But perhaps most importantly, in those few short weeks we are starting to stabilize a consistently declining business and returning it growth, especially with key retailers who we were previously at risk of losing shelf space just months ago.