Our overall objective was to make guys 18-24 aware, accept and eager to use the first-ever male refreshment cloths. This was NOT easy! Through media research, we determined young men this age are:Notoriously fickle about adopting a new grooming habit – particularly one that involves managing sweat & odor – and has un-masculine connotations of a feminine facial cloth or baby wipe. Much more difficult to connect with via TV and print - the launch plan’s PRIMARY vehicles- compared with the traditional older M25-34 Old Spice target.Since M18-24 represented a considerable volume opportunity, we had to develop an idea that had stopping power among this younger subset. As the client had already arranged for samples to be distributed at Spring Break, we sought an opportunity there that would amplify Cool Contact’s ‘manly’, refreshing benefits where and when the target received a sample. Each March, university students from all over the country flock to Spring Break cities for a weeklong, debaucherous holiday. To students, it is the perfect escape from their studies. To us, Spring Break – through Twister - was the perfect opportunity to make Cool Contact relevant among the media elusive M18-24 market. Our recipe for success was simple: For two weeks, we placed Cool Contact Branded Twister mats (see below) on the high traffic beaches of Daytona, South Padre Island and Panama City, Florida. Each site was surrounded by Cool Contact branded tents and signs to attract players. Also on site were Cool Contact ‘Towel Girls’ to encourage participation, distribute 300+ branded prizes and ‘towel off’ hot guys with over 500M samples. Provocative games were played throughout the day by enthusiastic, bathing suit-clad students. Participants twisted, inevitably suggestively, with/around/on top of each other, working up a sweat under the sun and watched by cheering peers. Through Cool Contact Twister, we created the need for guys to keep cool while they made contact with girls. Cool Contact towel samples met this need perfectly, keeping them refreshed and confident to pursue their female playmates following the game. Cool Contact Twister was more than a branding opportunity because it:Harnessed the most fundamental of insights about guys 18-24: GIRLS! Twister gave guys permission to get in close contact fellow Spring Break bikini-clad women Created a need among guys for a refreshing towel. Twisting in such close proximity to women made guys conscious of any sweat/odor they might be exuding. Fulfilled their sweaty needs instantly through samples on site Cool Contact branded sample girls distributed cloths for sweaty guys to use after the game. Best of all, guys understood when, where and why they needed it. The media team conceived and produced the entire Cool Contact Twister program, from the branded game board and prizes to creating the ideal environment for the target to try and use the product. The media team also selected young men & women to officiate each game within each of the 3 cities. Procter & Gamble coordinated the selection of ‘Towel Girls’ and distribution of samples at the game sites. COOL CONTACT TWISTER was a novel way to not just introduce Old Spice’s new product, but to light-heartedly initiate a habit change among the very core of COOL CONTACT’s target audience in the right place, at the right time: Spring Break ‘02. Although Spring Break is not a new canvas for advertisers, leveraging a timeless, classic game to connect with guys 18-24, was. Youth of all ages have LOVED Twister for decades and recently, it has experienced increasing popularity on University campuses. Knowing our target sees Twister as an icon for FUN, the media team saw an untapped opportunity to use Twister to establish a ‘reason why’ guys should use Cool Contact, while playing off Cool Contact’s refreshment benefits. More important, it was not an overt, one-dimensional branding effort. Instead, Twister enabled Cool Contact to fit seamlessly into the Spring Break party scene, and gave guys a stimulating way to connect with the brand, and girls.

The media team conceived and produced the entire Cool Contact Twister program, from the branded game board and prizes to creating the ideal environment for the target to try and use the product. The media team also selected young men & women to officiate each game within each of the 3 cities. Procter & Gamble coordinated the selection of ‘Towel Girls’ and distribution of samples at the game sites.