Windex® reminds us how glass plays a role in life’s most important moments in this story about a girl growing up, her relationship with her father, and the ways they connect with each other through the glass surfaces. The film begins with the moment she’s born and her father rushing to the maternity ward window to see her. As she grows up, her life is told in moments seen through glass, reflected in glass, or interacting with glass. Her father does his best to connect with her despite long periods of absence caused by his career that keeps him out at sea. He finds many of those moments of connection in glass, driving to the film’s point: What’s between us, connects us. The film is edited to the poignant song, “A Beautiful Thing”, by the young female artist, Grace Vanderwaal.

The Story of Lucy first started bringing people to tears in August 2017 with video and social placements. As initial buzz was starting to build in social media and in the press, we partnered with influencers whose content missions were a perfect fit for this emotional story of a father’s relationship with his daughter as she grows up. People began sharing the film with their friends and warning them to have some kleenex nearby for the tears it would induce. Music from Grace Vanderwaal played an integral role in our story. As a young woman herself, the power of Grace’s voice was the perfect engine for the story, and made the ad even more memorable for her legions of fans who immediately recognized her from the first note.

This was the glass cleaner ad that made men of all ages cry. The nearly 10MM people we reached showed an outpouring of positive reaction, recalling their own father-daughter relationships and their love for the song, marveling at how they couldn’t believe this was a Windex® ad. This response earned us the 2017 YouTube Ad of Year award for Ad that Goes Straight to the Heart, won by viewer voting on the platform.

We saw more than 20 organic pick-ups in the press, with publications taking note of this breakthrough approach to marketing a cleaning product. The impact of the music from up and coming artist Grace Vanderwaal garnered additional attention, as she was already generating press with her impending album release and upcoming tour.