Malaysia – Colgate in Malaysia has launched a new installment for its global-wide inspirational brand campaign titled ‘Smile Strong’ that seeks to champion positive change within the community, particularly during uncertain times. This new brand film highlights the ‘power of smile’ in the face of adversity.

The latest film tells the story of Malaysian singer, songwriter, and rapper Airliftz, who despite relentless challenges throughout his life brought by his in-born facial deformities, continues to ‘smile strong’. The 24-year-old Kajang artist was born with a nose missing cartilage, making him instantly recognisable by his unconventional appearance.

Developed in collaboration with Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated global team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive, the cinematic direction of the film takes the viewer on a journey through Airliftz’s life from childhood, giving a very real insight into what he has faced throughout his life. 

Moreover, about 90% of the film is shot from the back, retracing significant and often heartbreaking moments in his life, until he walks from the dressing room to the stage where he is greeted by thousands of excited fans. The contrasting stories aim to demonstrate how his willpower and determination have broken through societal biases, which ultimately led him to share his passion with the world.

Colgate said that Airliftz’s poignant story was chosen to inspire and remind Malaysians that with perseverance and a positive attitude, we can all achieve great things that can change our life forever.

See Mei Sin, associate marketing director for Oral Care at Colgate-Pamolive, said, “Colgate believes that everyone deserves a future they can smile about – no matter the age, race, gender, or simply one’s looks. It is our hope that Airliftz’ story inspires an optimistic spirit within Malaysians – that there is true power in our smile, regardless of our circumstances.”

Meanwhile, Adrian Miller, chief creative officer at Ogilvy Malaysia, shared that in the toothpaste category, they don’t tend to see much deviation from the norm when it comes to brand storytelling, and so, they always ask themselves how can they bring a fresh perspective to well-trodden territory.

“By keeping the protagonist’s face hidden throughout the commercial and juxtaposing the harsh realities of his past life with the adulation he’s receiving in the present we created a film that will intrigue the viewer. In a world of disposable content, the best we can hope for is for people to watch to the very end and the least we can do is reward them for doing so,” said Miller.

The new film will be running in cinema and digital until December 2022.

Hong Kong – More and more brands are heeding the call for sustainability, and toothpaste brand Colgate is strengthening its commitment to social impact through finally making its toothpaste tubes recyclable. In line with this, the brand has released an engaging campaign that introduces its newly revamped packaging – via the personification of ‘Colley’. 

Through advert shorts, ‘Colley’ is seen as laidback and funny where it says recycling is ‘fun’ except when it’s a ‘joke’ you’re repurposing. The campaign is developed by Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated global team dedicated to Colgate-Palmolive brands. 

Called ‘Share the Answers’, the campaign ultimately champions Colgate’s use of HPDE recyclable toothpaste tubes.

“We are committed to [helping] find solutions to the problem plastic represents for the planet. And we want to do it holistically [by] making our products recyclable whilst simultaneously educating people and collaborating with organizations on the ground,” said Yves Briantias, Colgate’s VP of marketing for APAC. 

Regional ECD of Red Fuse Kenny Choo said Colley, the recyclable tube, is full of energy and optimism and will often be found chatting about recyclable plastic with Genny, the animated tube character that is a complete contrast – not recyclable.

Choo said, “We want to help people understand the new technology of Colgate’s recyclable tube in a fun and engaging way, and Colley brings that ‘refreshing’ appeal to the toothpaste category…we feel that these characters will permeate through cultures and across continents for both Colgate and consumers. We have developed content that will appeal to all generations and that will help to encourage more discussion around recycling and sustainable habits.” 

Colgate has actually pledged to design and deliver circular and alternative solutions for all its products as part of its 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy. 

The present campaign with ‘Colley’ was first launched in Australia and is expected to be adopted across other APAC markets. It has already been rolled out across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok and will also be including in-store promotions. 

Manila, Philippines – Following the success of the #SmileStrong campaign launched in 2020, Colgate in the Philippines has launched its latest ad under the campaign, which is a call to action for viewers to have the courage to take action, regardless of life’s challenges.

The previous local campaign featured various personas, namely teacher and motivational speaker and born with down syndrome Brina Maxino, local actress Candy Pangilinan who is mother to a son who has ADHD, and Arizza Nocum, peace advocate and entrepreneur who co-founded KRIS, a non-profit organization promoting peace through education. Said campaign saw the personas share people’s judgments of their capabilities and capped it off with a positive “I smile.”

In this latest ad, Colgate features Marlon Fuentes, a Grab taxi driver who has Tourette syndrome. In it, Fuentes describes that due to his condition, including uncontrollable body movements and twitches, he is easily being judged by many passengers. However, he goes on to say that he can’t just simply shrug off the negative impressions from other people, as he chose to accept who he is.

The campaign’s inspirational tone exudes the campaign’s goal of staying positive, with Fuentes stating that just like how he takes care of his own family, he too can assure his passengers that he will drive them safely to their destination.

“Moving ahead into 2022, the Colgate team are continuing their ambition to deliver real impact on society and elevate equity across borders. In the Philippines the team looked for new personalities to lift the spirits of the nation battered by the ongoing pandemic. The sense of ‘pangiti-ngiti lang’ (just smiling through it) was prevalent, and the team wanted to find true optimists whose spirit would rise above this,” the company said in a press statement.

The campaign was made by Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated global team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive.

Speaking about the creative process of the campaign, Dino Ocampo, executive creative director at Red Fuse said that it was a pleasure to highlight the heroism and inner strength of a driver with Tourette’s syndrome, and show how he manages to overcome not only his condition, but the prejudices of those around him. 

He added that Fuentes’ captivating optimism has managed to transform and elevate all of them at the team who were fortunate enough to work with him.

“With the pandemic reaching a critical point in the Philippines throughout the last year, overall community morale was at an all-time low. Trying to push a message of optimism in a time and place where people could barely find a reason to smile, was a challenge,” Ocampo stated.

He added, “Meeting Maron was like a breath of fresh air. He inspired us all. Our talented director Direk Joel Limchoc, was energized by his outlook and really set the tone to build his story in a way that was meaningful to us all and which also aligned to Colgate’s stance on ‘Optimism in Action’.”

Colgate’s #SmileStrong campaign is an ongoing brand campaign which aims to focus on equity advertising by highlighting select people as their ‘muses’ to best represent their vision of creating ‘a future for everyone to smile about’. The campaign itself has been rolled out in the past few years in the region, including in Thailand and Malaysia.

Bangkok, Thailand – When dealing with tough times, smiles work as affirmations that boost one’s confidence, and with this, Colgate Thailand seeks to encourage the locals to embrace resilient smiles through its newest campaign titled ‘#YimsuGeneration’, following last year’s #Yimsu campaign, which in English translates to ‘smile strong’. 

Created in collaboration with creative agency Soho Square Bangkok and Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated global team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive, the campaign aims to empower Thailand’s generation of today to not only keep smiling but be resilient enough to thrive. 

The latest ‘#YimsuGeneration’ campaign features the true story of Thun-Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, whose life took an unprecedented turn as she lost both of her legs in a train accident at the age of 14. Nevertheless, Thun and her father have not lost the ability to keep smiling and found the strength to pursue a new dream. 

Colgate believes that Thun embodies the Yimsu ideal and becomes the face of a generation hit by soul-crushing crises yet remaining positive and resilient through a difficult time.

Soho Square Bangkok’s Executive Creative Director Andrew Chu shared that this latest campaign from Colgate Thailand aims to strengthen the Yimsu concept laid out by previous campaigns under the same theme.

“By showing Thun’s story, we want to highlight that despite a family or parent’s best interests for their kids, life doesn’t always go as planned, and the most important thing is to never give up. We hope that Thun’s optimism can inspire people of all ages to become more resilient and smile strong through all the challenges they face these days,” said Chu.

Meanwhile, Arisa Ruchirawat, Colgate-Palmolive’s marketing director for Oral Care, commented that since their first #Yimsu campaign last year talking about the power of smiling through adversities, Colgate Thailand has committed to inspiring Thais to embrace the spirit of optimism and resilience to help them get through obstacles in life. 

“We believe that despite whatever happens, with the right perspective and mindset, they will be able to rise above the challenges and build a better future for themselves,” said Ruchirawat.

The campaign is now available in long-form content and TV commercials, along with integrated communications across digital and activation.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Following a successful partnership with Ogilvy Malaysia on the back of its inspirational ‘Smile Strong Bersama’ campaign in 2020, Colgate-Palmolive in the country has extended its remit with the agency.  

The appointment will see Ogilvy undertake strategic and creative communications, digital, and social media duties throughout 2021 across all Colgate-Palmolive’s business including its oral care and home care brands such as Colgate, Softlan, and Elmex. 

Edith Marquez-Reyes, marketing director of Colgate-Palmolive for Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei, said that due to the successful run of the ‘Smile Strong Bersama’ campaign, the company has gained confidence to hand the marketing business of its entire portfolio of brands to the agency this year.

“We believe Ogilvy is one of the best creative agencies for us to collaborate and together, we can continuously drive growth for our brands in Malaysia,” said Marquez-Reyes.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive of Ogilvy Malaysia, Nizwani Shahar, commented, “Colgate-Palmolive carries some of the most iconic brands that can be found in almost every household across the globe. We are so proud to be able to work with these brands alongside the Colgate-Palmolive team who have shown they are willing to take calculated risks to make their brands matter.”

Ogilvy will be driving Colgate-Palmolive’s business in Malaysia in collaboration with Red Fuse, an integrated global WPP Team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive worldwide.

In November, Red Fuse has also launched a uniform region-wide campaign in Asia, ‘Made for Greatness’, partnering with Academy Award-winning documentary director Jimmy Chin for its Colgate Total brand. 

Manila, Philippines – The Colgate brand has been doubling down on its global-wide advertising campaigns, where its optimism-themed #SmileStrong campaign released just recently in Southeast Asia market Malaysia. Today, another region-bound country, the Philippines, has officially announced its installment of the campaign, where the specific Colgate arm decided to spotlight on the optimistic attitude among individuals with special needs.

Three individuals are the protagonists of the Filipino ad spots – teacher and motivational speaker and born with down syndrome Brina Maxino, local actress Candy Pangilinan who is mother to a son who has ADHD, and Arizza Nocum, peace advocate and entrepreneur who co-founded KRIS, a non-profit organization promoting peace through education.

Much like the Malaysian campaign, the ambassadors in the spot states a recurring statement of “When they say…I smile,” where they share people’s judgments of their capabilities and capping it off with a positive “I smile.”

Colgate Philippines, in a press statement, shared that with the local implementation of the global advocacy, it hopes to make the same big impact that other #SmileStrong campaigns in other key markets have generated, which is “an increase of brand love and loyalty among consumers.”

The country’s Marketing Director Ari Mandelbaum speaks of how the ad aims to break the false positivity in “Filipino resilience” and inspire “optimism in action” instead.

“The common Filipino’s ‘resilience’ has constantly been held up as a shining character trait even in the face of natural disasters, violent conflict, poverty, and a number of deep-seated societal issues,” he said.

However, Mandelbaum added, “A growing number of people are seeing ‘The Filipino Resilience’ as a glorified coping mechanism, seemingly resigned to just powering through adversities with a mindset to live just to survive each day. At Colgate, we believe that it takes more than optimism to power through the challenges of today, thus launching #SmileStrong where we encourage Filipinos to believe and uphold the power of ‘optimism in action.’”

Together with Colgate-Palmolive’s global creative partner Red Fuse, which is advertising and communications company WPP’s integrated global team, the brand in the Philippines has tapped another WPP network – integrated marketing communications firm SOHO Square, its local arm – to bring the local rendition to fruition.

Caloy Sambrano, managing partner at SOHO Square Philippines said, “As an agency, we have developed and implemented various equity campaigns in the past, but we must say that this Colgate #SmileStrong campaign is one, if not the most, important campaign that we have ever done. We wanted each and every Filipino to feel inspired and relate to the stories of our muses especially when they see the contents that we put out.”

Following the global campaign’s wide marketing strategy, Colgate Philippines will be releasing integrated communications across digital and public relations, where activations in partnership with muses Arizza, Candy, and Brina will be run until 2021.

Aside from the #SmileStrong campaign, Colgate-Palmolive has earlier piloted its “Made for Greatness” campaign in Thailand, featuring professional climber and Academy Award-winning documentary director Jimmy Chin. The campaign is said to be progressively rolled out across Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia & New Zealand.

Thailand – Colgate has released a new campaign in Thailand for Colgate Total, its high-performance toothpaste product, where the ad spotlights “greatness,” featuring professional climber and Academy Award-winning documentary director Jimmy Chin.

Titled “Made for Greatness,” the campaign comes after Colgate’s recent release of the #SmileStrong campaign in various markets such as ANZ, Philippines, and in Malaysia, where it has been locally adapted as #SmileStrongBersama, where Bersama means together. The said campaign displayed the main theme of optimism amid challenges and prejudices in life.

For the current one, Colgate has decided to move to feature the message of “greatness,” matching the extra hardworking anti-bacterial formula of its Colgate Total. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vSWCjfAxt24

Chin is known for his numerous climbing expeditions in different countries such as China, Pakistan, and Nepal. In 2019, his documentary chronicling a rock climber’s journey won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Displaying the brand’s color palette of Red and White, the ad shows Chin attempting an arduous mountain. In the middle of the climb, he is seen taking a break and refreshing using Colgate Total. 

The creative brain behind the campaign is Red Fuse, global communications company WPP’s integrated global team for Colgate-Palmolive. 

The campaign will be progressively rolled out across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia & New Zealand within the next few weeks.

Colgate’s Regional Marketing Director Lyndon Morant said, “Now, more than ever, people have a stronger resolve when it comes to the world becoming a better place for all. This campaign really shows a turning point – not just for Colgate Total – but for the category as a whole that we can move into a broader, richer territory to connect with people in a way that our category hasn’t done before. Greatness is about demanding more every single day, and that’s the exact attitude we bring to Colgate Total.”

Outside of the film, the campaign also includes integrated communications across out-of-home, digital & eCommerce, and in-store displays.