‘The Dishwasher Trial’

Our task was to develop a holistic PR campaign to support the launch of Joy Gel Tab, a completely new dishwasher detergent. In our research, we discovered that nearly 3 million dishwashers were sitting in Japanese kitchens neglected, unused. Consumers had abandoned their dishwashers. So in addition to communicating the product’s superior cleaning performance, we needed to simultaneously regain consumer interest towards the dishwasher category.

Our strategy was to shift the blame from the dishwasher to the detergent, then offer consumers a new solution. We aimed to trigger attention by focusing on their high hopes of being ‘freed’ from hand washing dishes.

The role of PR was to regain target interest in the dishwasher category itself by broadly delivering the fact that dishwashers are actually useful if used with the right detergent. We divided the PR communication into two consecutive phases. The first phase raised the issue of millions of unused dishwashers through broad media coverage. The second phase demonstrated how Joy Gel Tab could reactivate dishwasher performance with its superior performance, revealing the importance of detergent choice.

Our idea – ‘The Dishwasher Trial’ was to put dishwashers on trial, questioning their assumed guilt. The details of the trial and the final court decision were broadly disclosed through various touch points in an entertaining fashion.

The plan successfully delivered tangible results in the sales of Joy Gel Tab, making a significant contribution to dishwasher reactivation in Japanese kitchens.

To prove the dishwasher’s innocence, we put them on trial. A famous lawyer was appointed to defend the dishwashers and clear their name. A real lawyer was assigned to give the program credibility, considering that the main idea was ‘a trial’.

The trial, back-story and aftermath were brought to life in a series of viral web movies. During the trial, evidence of Joy Gel Tab’s cleaning performance was used to prove that dishwashers were, in fact, innocent. Blame was properly assigned to old detergents. Following the web movie release, we staged a public trial to announce the product release to the press. In front of the audience, the lawyer demonstrated the dishwasher’s effectiveness when using Joy Gel Tab.

After the trial we published an editorial ad in a national newspaper touting the dishwasher’s innocence. Product samples were also distributed to housewives so they can hold their own ‘trial’ at home.

The program achieved massive exposure across all media, including several TV news programs, newspapers, magazines and online, earned an ROI of 10 times versus PR spending with USD $3 Million in earned media.

Housewives who experienced Joy Gel Tab posted their cheers of “innocent” on the brand’s website, and the judgment, “The Dishwasher is innocent,” created a sensation across blogs and social media.

Joy Gel Tab not only reached a new sales record but led dishwasher detergent market growth to +10% vs same period a year earlier. Most of all, dishwashers were once again able to wash dishes.