Johnson & Johnson’s mouthwash brand Listerine used Facebook video ads to drive education and awareness about the benefits of mouthwash and its new miswak formula during the Ramadan period.
Case study summary
• Mouthwash brand aimed to persuade under 40s in Saudi Arabia and UAE to adopt a new oral care regime during Ramdan
• Listerine created video ad series featuring the benefits of traditional Miswak-based mouthwash and relevancy during Ramadan
• Ad delivery was timed to moments when the brand knew its audience would be awake, such as at Suhoor—the early morning meal that Muslims eat before fasting during daylight hours.
• Achieved 3% lift in ad recall and 5% lift in awareness
The challenge
Listerine modernised a Middle Eastern oral care ritual by launching Listerine Miswak. After its research showed that the younger generation perceives traditional miswak sticks as old-fashioned, Listerine developed an innovative solution that combines modern science with natural miswak extract. Since oral care concerns are more prevalent while fasting during Ramadan, Listerine launched its new product with a Ramadan-focused campaign.
The strategic communications challenge was to persuade 20- to 39-year-olds in KSA and UAE, who are ambivalent towards mouthwash, to adopt a new habit as part of their oral care regime.
The solution
To raise awareness of its new product, Listerine created a series of video ads featuring the benefits of mouthwash and relevancy during Ramadan. Following Facebook’s best practices for video creative, the ads were front-loaded with brand messaging, were kept short and worked both with and without sound.
Johnson & Johnson’s research showed that using Listerine Miswak can increase self-confidence, so the creative focused on feeling bolder at work—a top area of concern for its target audience, and one in which they felt that oral care played an important role.
In a first for Listerine, the campaign extended into the Ramadan period itself. Ad delivery was timed to moments when the brand knew its audience would be awake, such as at Suhoor—the early morning meal that Muslims eat before fasting during daylight hours.
The results
Johnson & Johnson’s mobile-first approach, combined with a locally relevant campaign idea and core demographic targeting, delivered robust results during the competitive and important Ramadan period. Between May–June 2017, the campaign achieved:
• 3% lift in ad recall
• 5% lift in awareness
• 1% lift in favourability in Saudi Arabia
