Fruit of the Loom is a 160-year-old American brand known quality underwear, but few saw it as fashionable. It was time to change that. It started with a TV commercial showing how Fruit employees used transparent plastic pants to test their no ride-up boxer briefs.

Fruit of the Loom then leveraged this small media buy by spinning the tale of an eccentric fashion designer, Frank La Rant, who was so inspired by this commercial that he launched his own brand of high-end plastic pants, PLASTIQUE. The result was one giant PR stunt designed to engage the media, fashion editors and bloggers, and through them, the general public. It parodied fashion in a tongue-in-cheek way, and drew attention to the stylish new Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs that were always underneath.

Beginning with a documentary that highlighted the mastermind behind the line, Plastique hit the scene with fashion ads, OOH, digital, and a web experience that allowed you to shop the collection and download this season’s LookBook. It connected people to social media where they could engage with the brand and Frank himself. Soon, PLASTIQUE was spotted from Soho to Rodeo Drive. Fans were telling celebs to wear it, bloggers were posting about it, and with over 800,000 video views, the world fell in love with PLASTIQUE. And what was underneath: Fruit of the Loom.

Fruit of the Loom started with a strong but conventional TV commercial, which became the launching point for a fake fashion brand: PLASTIQUE. These clear plastic pants soon hit the fashion scene, with Fruit of the Loom underwear underneath.

It launched with a documentary about designer Frank La Rant, showing his process from inspiration to runway. Then came the media blitz: billboards in Soho, videos and banners on fashion sites, a website where fans could explore the collection. Stunts in LA and NYC showed off Plastique on the streets.

Through social media, PLASTIQUE got celebrities, fashionistas, and bloggers talking, while being clear Fruit of the Loom was behind all of this (and underneath it). Someone even started a crowd funding campaign to buy plastic pants for prom.

Images of our PR stunt were distributed on the AP Newswire and the campaign was pitched to trade, fashion, and lifestyle media.

The integrated campaign was incredibly successful, driving conversation about both PLASTIQUE and Fruit of the Loom. For target customers, the campaign achieved two things: a recognition that Fruit of the Loom makes better boxer briefs, but more importantly, that Fruit was an innovative, relevant brand.

Output/Awareness:

With over 10 million social impressions, and 800,000 video views and counting, it added up to an engagement rate double the category average.

Within one week of PR launch we had secured thirteen unique media placements totaling 37,110,544 impressions and pitching continues with additional placements expected in early May.

Action/Business Impact:

Over half of visits to Fruit.com led to views of men’s underwear pages with a 484% increase of men’s underwear page views year over year.