Tag: Procter & Gamble

Singapore – Consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G) has launched iLab 2021, alongside with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EBD), in an effort to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.

iLab 2021 is a 3-day virtual innovation festival, which will see start-ups from Singapore and across the region come together to collaborate with P&G and develop innovations that can overcome real-world challenges faced in the areas of advertising, retail, and supply chain.

The launch was officiated and witnessed by guest-of-honor Heng Swee Keat, deputy prime minister and coordinating minister of economic policies and minister for finance in Singapore along with Rafik Mansour, Chargé d’Affaires in the U.S. Embassy in Singapore; Ted Tan, deputy CEO of Enterprise Singapore and Cindy Koh, executive vice president at the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The event is held at P&G’s i-Singapore Digital Omni-Channel Center (i-SiDOC).

During iLab, selected start-ups will ideate and brainstorm with P&G to help solve challenges using technology in domains such as AI personalization, gaming, social commerce, and supply chain resiliency. Selected start-ups with promising approaches will then work with P&G to roll out pilots across P&G’s markets in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Through the support from the EDB, P&G will also mentor start-ups and create cross-exchanges through networking engagements. By partnering with start-ups and technology companies, there is room to experience, learn from each other and grow together.

Magesvaran Suranjan, president for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at Procter & Gamble believe that Singapore is home to one of the strongest, and most vibrant innovation ecosystems in the region, with a diverse pool of talent constantly striving for new ideas and solutions to solve future challenges.

“In the post-pandemic future, the pursuit for innovation is crucial for the recovery and advancement of our economy. Our vision for P&G in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region is to become the company of the future and leverage Singapore as the innovation hub for P&G and our industry, leading digital transformation and powering innovation across all aspects of our business,” Suranjan stated.

Meanwhile, Karthik Natarajan, senior vice president and CFO at P&G Asia Pacific, Middle East, & Africa, commented, “We are very thankful to have the support of like-minded partners in this exciting journey, especially the close partnerships that we enjoy with the EDB and ESG. 

He added, “At P&G, we always endeavor to lead the change across all aspects of our operations, and support our partners, employees, and other stakeholders. With the opening of iLab, it sets the base pillar for P&G as a company of the future – our visionary framework towards creating a better future for everyone.”

iLab focuses on three different streams – ‘Future of Advertising’, ‘Future of Retail’ and ‘Future of Supply Chain’. These three areas represent the evolving consumer and retail needs, transforming media ecosystems and revolutionary changes in supply chain. These areas are ripe for piloting innovative processes and technologies to improve how consumers live and work.

Prior to the inauguration of iLab, 100 start-ups were assessed to solve real business challenges set by P&G. From this, the top 27 start-ups have been curated and shortlisted to participate in the 3-day festival. iLab 2021 will be held virtually over three days, from 4-6 May 2021, where these start-ups will showcase their solutions and share more about how they envision themselves tackling the given problem.

Tokyo, Japan – Head & Shoulders, the anti-dandruff shampoo brand of Procter & Gamble, has released a new animated campaign for its Japanese market, narrating a tale of espionage of dandruff prevention.

Entitled ‘The Chase’, the campaign follows Ando the spy as he is being chased by Detective Takashi and his henchmen across the world. Despite hiding at every corner in the world, Ando is somehow tracked down by Detective Takashi due to the ‘trail of dandruff’ he left behind. But after using H&S scalp product, Ando manages to escape the henchman-now without a trace.

The campaign centers around the message of ‘Don’t let dandruff get in the way’ as Procter and Gamble aims to promote a new line of Head & Shoulders products in the Japanese market. The campaign also aimed at portraying the issue of dandruff among Japanese men in an anime-inspired context, as Japanese men rarely speak about dandruff-related issues.

“The campaign not only marks the launch of our new line of anti-dandruff products in Japan, but is also the start of an exciting new journey where we want to help men break free from the stigma that surrounds dandruff, providing a solution both to a haircare issue and an everyday life barrier,” said Kylene Campos, vice president for Japan and Korea for hair care at P&G.

The campaign was done in collaboration with creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore. The collective has also worked with Psyop/Blacklist – renowned for managing the best animators in the world – and high-profile animation company Wizz’s director duo CRCR to bring the vision of Ando and this adventure to life. 

“Animation is a category convention breaking approach, aimed to stand out from traditional product-focused shampoo commercials. The 2.5D animation style was chosen to convey the desired mix between the realism of the characters and settings and the liberties animation allows for which heightens both the action and humor of the film,” Forsman & Bodenfors stated in a press statement.

According to Shum Qihao, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore, knowing that talking about dandruff among men in Japan is met with a taboo factor, they aimed to create the campaign to uplift a humorous element to it, as well with a theme of action-packed sequences.

“We conceived Ando to prove the point that getting rid of dandruff is easier than most people think, and created a relatable yet aspirational character for audiences to showcase that. Every scene is crafted to dramatize the annoying consequences of having dandruff and how Ando finally finds the perfect solution to break free from it,” Qihao stated.

Meanwhile, Julia Blomquist, planner at Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore commented, “Greasiness and dandruff are associated with the feeling of shame and perception of being unhygienic, meaning few men discuss the issue or its possible solutions with others, and they are held back in daily life because of it. With this campaign, we tackle the issue by addressing it head on with humor, showing we understand the audience in a way that breaks the category convention.”

The original campaign, initially launched last 8 April, will be also available as two shorter spots catered for TV and social media campaigns, which will be accompanied by key visuals and GIFs for social media and digital display.

In addition, fans can follow the adventure on Twitter using the “#フケから救出大作戦” (#OperationRescueFromDandruff) hashtag. Adding to that, Ando will be taking over H&S Japan’s Twitter account where he will provide advice for men suffering from dandruff. There will also be a question box available for those who wish to ask questions anonymously.

Singapore – P&G-owned skincare brand Olay has launched a brand new campaign – Adult Fearlessly – and it has partnered with Shopee to exclusively run it on its platform ahead of Olay’s special sale event Brand Day. The event will be held on October 14 to 16.

The campaign seeks to reach and engage with millennial women around Southeast Asia to bring a message of empowerment that they can #adultfearlessly, and overcome the perceived challenges of “adulting,” such as that with investing in their skincare needs.

Together with Shopee, Olay has conceptualized and co-created content such as a video called “Fearless with your choices,” which aims to shift the mindsets of millennials as they confront their fears of turning 30. It is also said to highlight the positive aspects of the journey leading up to such age.

The campaign will be rolled out in phases across six markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

Lucy Moran, Senior eCommerce Director of Olay for APAC shared that the brand wants to focus on how consumers are integrating their lifestyle with their skin needs.

“As one of the top facial skincare brands in the world, we are continually innovating and advancing the way we connect with our consumers. With e-commerce driving a major shift from offline to online sales, there is potential to achieve further growth in this segment,” said Moran.

“Riding on this momentum to broaden our reach in Southeast Asia, we are partnering with Shopee once again to bring more engaging and convenient experiences online, where consumers are able to access Olay products– all at the click of a button,” she added.

Meanwhile, Shopee’s Regional Managing Director Ian Ho said that the Health & Beauty category is one of the top-performing on the platform as the new normal has driven even more consumers to browse and buy skin care products online.

“We are proud to be able to support Olay in their e-commerce growth through this campaign. Our shared consumer insights and widening base of millennial users have enabled a hyperlocal strategy for Olay to deliver the best online shopping experience. We are confident in supporting Olay to achieve another successful campaign with us,” said Ho.

This will be the second collaboration between the two brands. In April, Olay’s regional campaign for its Retinol 24 product line was also run by the partnership with Shopee.