Colgate, once Australia’s No.1 most trusted brand(1), was starting to resemble more of a “rusted brand”. By 2019, awareness was falling, and brand attributes were in consecutive decline(2).

As the brand slipped from a leadership position to a mass market brand bought on autopilot(3), our long-term mission became to increase Colgate’s Masterbrand Distinctiveness & Emotional Bond.

But how do we get Australians emotionally connected to their toothpaste brand?

The Colgate Smile is the sign of active and contagious optimism, inspiring us to create a more positive future that we can all smile about.

To build the brand and shift these long-term objectives, we had to go deep into the core of the brand, actualising Colgate’s unique brand positioning of “optimism in action”. We wanted to create a smile strong movement, powered by optimism.

1Readers Digest, 2011

2IPSOS

3WPP BAV

To highlight optimism in action, Colgate became the official Smile of the AFL (Australian Football League), sharing empowering sporting stories through content.

This year, we needed to move beyond telling stories of optimism in action, to embodying it.

The AFL is meant to be the game of Australia, but it isn’t accessible to all Australians.

Colgate believes that everyone deserves a future they can smile about. It’s incumbent on us, as the official smile of the AFL to resolve this.

There are few things in this world that are stronger in uniting people in optimism than their sporting team’s song. It is a shared moment of optimism. It’s the song that truly makes a community smile.

But if you’re hearing impaired, how do you join in and sing your AFL team song?

Team songs had never been truly inclusive…until now.

We showed Australian footy fans the Sound of a Smile.

In 2021, we were introduced to Jamie Howell - a profoundly deaf AFLW player who has never let her disability hold her back from playing the sport she loves.

One day, Jamie’s teammates surprised her by learning their team song in Auslan (Australian Sign Language). Jamie was finally able to embrace the celebrations and share the moment with her teammates. This was optimism in action.

We were certain there would be plenty of other AFL fans whose hearing impairment was holding them back from the team celebrations. So we used Jamie’s story and lived experience to make the celebrations in the upcoming AFL finals truly inclusive.

We used the power of social media to ignite a cultural conversation, encourage engagement and spark a movement that would advance the game and the communities it touches, forever.

With Jamie, we helped Australian footy fans, see (and share) the Sound of a Smile.

We wanted to replicate the moment that Jamie’s teammates learnt her song in Auslan, but this time, for the entire AFL community.

So we taught AFL fans a new way to rejoice in their team song– using sign language.

We chose TikTok, the hottest platform for engaging users in song and dance. We partnered with Jamie to translate and sign seven different AFL team songs through Auslan. We then recruited a range of influencers– from professional AFL and AFLW players, to both hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired TikTok creators.

Their challenge was to duet alongside Jamie to their favourite AFL team song. The twist...they weren’t singing the team songs; they were signing them.

The rallying call from Jamie, the players and the creators was for the rest of Australia to duet along and learn Auslan. We simply encouraged everyone to give it a red-hot crack– sparking a movement of optimism.

This campaign went beyond advertising, to harness the power of user-generated content - making an entire community feel heard and included.

Talkability

The campaign was praised by AFL fans, the public and even a member of parliament. We got people talking about hearing loss and learning Auslan.

Social Media Metrics

We overdelivered on engagements by 313%. People wanted to be involved.

● People reached: 13M

● Impressions: 22M

● Video views (6 secs): 2.4M

● Engagements: 710K

● Positive Sentiment: 99%

Brand Impact

The campaign drove a positive shift in Colgate brand perceptions, contributing towards a 10% lift for being inspiring and a 17% lift for being a brand that cares for people(5).

But most importantly, we saw a 17% lift in the perception that Colgate does the right thing by the community. We are becoming a brand that stands for optimism and drives change.

A smile strong movement.

5Ipsos,2022