In 2023, Colgate doubled down on proactive care with the launch of Colgate Total Plaque Pro-Release, a toothpaste that penetrates hard-to-reach places and fights plaque bacteria along the gum line. Colgate scientists developed the product with the goal of helping consumers be dentist-ready.

The agency was tasked with driving awareness and consideration of the innovation through an activation that had an authentic tie to the brand’s “Be Dentist-Ready” DTC campaign. To resonate with the target, the campaign needed to tap into a core human truth: Most people don’t feel ready for their dentist appointments. That’s why Colgate set out to provide a safe space for consumers to admit the lies they’ve been telling their dentists and provide solutions to help them take control of their oral health.

Colgate wants everyone to feel “Dentist-Ready” and more confident going into their next appointment. With this in mind, the “Totally Honest” experience was born.

The Colgate Totally Honest experience is an in-person activation that gives people a safe, non-judgmental space to admit the lies they’ve told their dentist—no matter how ridiculous or absurd. The experience takes place inside a Colgate-red confessional booth, and visitors answer visual and audio prompts to share the ways they’ve stretched the truth while in the hot seat: the dentist chair. Through real-time face tracking technology, each confession was incorporated into a Total Plaque Pro-Release branded video playing live on the booth's exterior with the person's identity hidden. Footage of the anonymous confessions also ran as targeted social posts across Colgate’s channels. After the activation, we even encouraged Colgate’s followers to share their own lies, extending the truth-telling even further to a broader audience online.

We conducted primary research which revealed 80% of respondents were at least somewhat interested in a product that would help them feel better prepared for the dentist and 82% admitted to lying to their dentist. Anecdotal feedback confirmed these topics were relatable and gave rise to interesting stories about people’s experiences. These findings added credibility and underscored the problem in our messaging – people aren’t being honest with their dentists and don’t feel very confident going into their appointments.

We communicated from a range of voices to bring the Totally Honest messaging to life in an engaging way, including a celebrity, influencers and consumers themselves, who shared their confessions during an in-person activation that also provided a sampling opportunity. The survey findings and Totally Honest admissions paved the way for Colgate to share a solution that could help people feel more confident about their oral health: Colgate Total Plaque Pro-Release.

To provide a judgement-free zone for people to admit the lies they’ve been telling their dentists, we created a vibrant, eye-catching confessional booth in one of the most heavily foot-trafficked areas in America: Midtown Manhattan. Over two days, members of the press, influencers and over 1.5K people from all walks of life engaged with the activation. Over 400 people recorded confessions inside the booth, confessing their most outrageous dental lies to our hidden camera.

To create national scale, we compiled the best lies into social content that was targeted to key audiences via Colgate’s social channels and invited followers to share their own dental lies, creating even more engagement. We also partnered with actress Ashley Tisdale to share her personal experience with dental anxiety and use of the product, generating buzz in top-tier, national media and discussing the product with her 24M+ followers across Instagram and TikTok.

The results, including earned media coverage and engagement at the in-person activation, were beyond what the team expected. Tisdale participated in nine interviews with leading consumer lifestyle publications and overall earned efforts resulted in 1.56B+ earned media impressions and 65+ syndications. The activation was featured in Elite Daily, Glossy, Parade, US Weekly, Today, Women’s Health, New Beauty, Allure, Well + Good, People, PR Week and more.

Additional results:

1.5K+ sampling contacts

400+ confessions filmed

100+ IG posts with the use of #TotallyHonest

3.7M+ impressions and 33K+ engagements resulting from Ashley Tisdale’s social content and an additional 632K impressions and 20K engagements resulting from additional paid influencer content

Social content created from Totally Honest testimonials resulted in:

11.5K organic views

3.1M views and 13.6K engagements on TikTok inclusive of organic + paid media

84MM+ impressions garnered across Meta and TikTok