Tide has been the leading laundry detergent for over 75 years. While it has built a strong brand to justify its 200% price premium compared to its largest competitors, it is also in a low consideration category where the power of brands is being eroded by aggressive price promotions and soundalike claims.

In 2020, Tide faced its biggest marketing challenge yet in that it needed to launch its best cleaning and most expensive detergent to date – Tide Hygienic Clean. While the need for clean was more top of mind than ever due to the pandemic, American consumer spending was shrinking with a looming recession.

To successfully launch this product, Tide needed the right arena to demonstrate cleaning superiority that was unmatched, unforgettable and right for the moment.

That’s where the NFL came in: America’s most watched sports league with the most socially engaged fanbase. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced live sports to pause, the return of the NFL season was a cultural event that not only fans, but all of America, desperately marked on their calendars.

But just as America rejoiced in the NFL’s return, the league announced a beloved NFL tradition, the Jersey Swap where players would swap their dirty game-worn jerseys after the game, would no longer be allowed to happen due to COVID-19 precautions.

Luckily, Tide saw a solution to save this cherished tradition with its newest product, Tide Hygienic Clean, designed to get between fibers and deep clean clothes. We took this to the NFL, showed them Tide Hygienic Clean would meet their standard of clean, and convinced them to reverse their ban, ultimately creating the first-ever Clean Jersey Swap.

Tide worked with equipment managers across all 32 teams to collect jerseys, wash them in Tide Hygienic Clean, and ship them to their new owners. Over the course of the season, over 1400 players signed up to swap and became social media influencers, posting their swapped jerseys online and making every post a demo for Tide Hygienic Clean. We even took the swap to fans for the first time through a weekly sweepstakes that surprised a few special fans with jerseys. On broadcast, we turned NFL legend Peyton Manning into a socially-distanced robot who safely spread the word around the league and to viewers at home.

Saving the jersey swap was the perfect opportunity to position Tide Hygienic Clean as a hero in the category and in culture. No other brand had the same deep-cleaning power, thus making Tide’s superiority clear.