Contrasting sharply with the manly action during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, Unilever hair-care brand Sunsilk will launch an international campaign featuring three iconic women: Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and Shakira.
But leveraging the star power of women who symbolize living life to the max is only the beginning of the ambitious, multifaceted campaign, whose goal is to inspire women from all over the globe to live their own lives to the fullest. Dubbed ‘Life Can’t Wait,’ the collaborative initiative is being worked on by Toronto’s Capital C, JWT New York, DeGrippes Gobé in Paris and Ogilvy Action in Chicago, with Toronto-based PHD Canada handling Canadian media buys.
‘We’re extremely excited to unveil a powerful global campaign that features three truly inspirational icons,’ says Geoff Craig, VP/GM brand building, Unilever Canada. ‘Marilyn Monroe, Shakira and Madonna incarnate the ‘Life Can’t Wait’ values of independence and self-discovery. They’re recognized for living with passion and having the confidence to take leaps of faith – with their lives and their looks. Our hope is to inspire a new generation of women to do the same.’
Spanning three continents and 15 countries, the campaign showcases defining moments in the stars’ lives in a series of ads. Initially created by DeGrippes Gobé, the ‘Life Can’t Wait’ concept sprang from the insight that hair, more than any other physical attribute, plays a crucial role in a girl’s power of transformation and self-expression. Research conducted in six countries with 3,000 women revealed that 20-something women find having ‘good’ hair can be a trigger for seizing opportunities.
The resulting global campaign will actually begin rolling out two days before the Super Bowl. Starting Feb. 1, women around the globe will be invited to post their own ‘Life Can’t Wait’ moments on a microsite developed by Capital C. The women with the most inspiring stories, including one from Canada, will be featured in a Sunsilk global campaign set to debut this summer.
In addition to contest details, the microsite will feature a Canadian home page with information on a new Sunsilk collection launching in Canada in February. All product icon images featuring before and after hair shots were created by Capital C – whose previous memorable work for Sunsilk includes last year’s ‘Wig Out’ campaign.
After the Super Bowl launch, the ‘Life Can’t Wait’ campaign will be supported across Canada on key websites including MySpace and Facebook as well as in TV spots. Worldwide, the initiative will roll out after the big game in countries including India, Brazil, Thailand and Mexico.
www.lifecantwait.com (active Feb. 1)
