Canac wanted to strengthen its relationship with a key clientele: plumbers. And since we all know that butt-crack jokes are demeaning to plumbers, Canac thought it could help them regain their dignity by launching a new product that could tackle this issue.

Dignity Denim: the first anti-butt-crack jeans designed specially for plumbers.

The PR objective was simple: to get plumbers interested in our solution and ensure that their peers would find the solution amusing. Since plumbers have been the subject of ridicule for years regarding their cracks, our key message was: Regain your dignity with Dignity Denim. The target audience was primarily male plumbers between 30 and 55 years old living within a 150 km radius of a Canac hardware store. This target represents approximately 10% of Canac hardware store’s clientele. A press release signed by Canac hardware stores announcing the launch of this new product was sent out along with a video explaining the idea. With the video quickly becoming organically viral, traditional media immediately picked up our news about the launch, and Canac hardware store representatives were invited to talk about Dignity Denim both on television and the radio.

Launched as a video on Canac hardware store’s social media platforms, Dignity Denim was quickly distributed to a few lucky plumbers (100). With the insight being universally recognized, traditional media picked up the story with the support of a public relations strategy. The media investment comprised only the launch video, and the public relations campaign lasted for two weeks.

With more than 300M impressions from all over the world, Dignity Denim garnered over 1,100% in earned media versus initial investment. The demand for Dignity Denim was 520% higher than expected, and plumbers from 32 countries saw the campaign. With the jeans selling out in minutes, it’s Canac’s most successful product launch ever. But more importantly, Canac has plumbers’ backs.