After the very successful launch of their new innovative technology, LUMINOUS630®, in the women’s portfolio, NIVEA wanted to use the patented formula in a men’s product to finally win in the anti-aging segment for Men.

The brief was to develop a successful launch campaign for the new innovative anti-aging product range: NIVEA Men Anti-Age 2in1 Power Serum + NIVEA Men Anti-Age 2in1 Power Crème.

The key objective was to drives sales for the new product range and drive growth for NIVEA Men’s Anti-Age Segment, by recruiting new consumers into the category and stealing market share from competitors.

Imagine your new anti-age product from NIVEA Men is so effective that other men will notice your amazing-looking skin and feel compelled to compliment you on it.

We launched the campaign with a social experiment. We hired male actors to compliment other men’s skin in social settings and captured their reactions with hidden cameras. The footage was used in online and social films designed to trigger a debate about male stereotypes and masculinity.

We then created a global integrated campaign in which our male protagonist receives unsolicited skin compliments from other men while he goes about his daily life. The campaign demonstrated the effectiveness of our new skincare technology using skin compliments as the ultimate result our audience could not ignore.

Using desk research and a cross-market online study with YouGov, we uncovered a transformative insight:

Recognition from other men is one of the key motivational drivers for male behaviour and decision making. But when it comes to skin, not only do they barely talk about skincare – they also hardly ever make or receive positive comments about each other’s skin.

94% of men have never received a skin compliment from another man. (Online Survey 'Men's Skin Care' - MSL & YouGov, 2022)

This behavioral insight inspired a new approach of driving products effectiveness, which uses something men hardly ever experience: skin compliments from other men.

We knew this was the right creative strategy; it challenges cognitive bias around masculinity stereotypes, uses a highly motivational yet unexpected form of peer recognition to demonstrate effectiveness, and encourages men to connect in a new way, reflecting NIVEA’s core values of care & inclusivity.

We drove interest in the brand:

+364% increase in organic searches for NIVEA Men

We effectively sold the product:

NIVEA MEN Anti-Age 2in1 Power Creme became the number #1 SKU in men’s skincare across EU drugstores.

We drove business growth for the whole segment:

On top of the product sales, NIVEA Men experienced a +63% Net Sales Growth for their whole anti-age segment.

We recruited new consumers into the category – and our brand:

70% of the purchases of our products were done by shoppers that hadn’t bought NIVEA Men products before, and 54% of purchases came from those who hadn’t bought any anti-aging products before (Payback data Germany)