The AMV BBDO Creatives Making Brits Face Their Smelly Bits

Sure’s latest OOH campaign has gone to extreme lengths to get people talking about body odour – a topic that people rarely speak about because it makes them feel so awkward. In fact, they’d prefer to pretend their private parts don’t sweat at all. But Sure is changing that with its bold (and slightly bonkers) move, launching a campaign that doesn’t just talk about whole-body deodorant – it lets you smell the difference, thanks to a sniffable billboard in the heart of Camden.

The brains behind the stunt? AMV BBDO creatives Davide Mauroni and Esin Huseyin, who wanted to make Brits confront their F.O.B.O. (Fear of Body Odour) head-on – literally. From cheeky euphemisms to olfactory engagement, they break down the thinking behind this playful yet provocative campaign.

LBB> What was the brief on this campaign and how did the creative execution shape up?

Davide> We’d already created a bold shame-free TVC that celebrated diverse bodies for our global Rexona whole body launch. But we wanted to make something impactful and interactive for the Sure UK launch.
We often overlook the rest of the body, when it comes to body odour, focusing mainly on our pits. So for our Whole Body Deodorant we wanted to normalise all over body odour. And our sniffable billboard was the perfect way to not only normalise – but make people confront – the UK’s smelly bits. Because if Brits could get a little more familiar with their bodies, they’d be a lot more comfortable with reaching for an all-over deodorant.

LBB> Tell me about the inspiration behind the 'Brits and Their Bits' campaign tagline.

Esin> As a nation, British people have adopted the reputation of being a little polite and somewhat prudish. But truthfully, when it comes to their “naughty bits” they have a lot to say – just as interesting and cheeky euphemisms. So to truly show that there’s now a deo for all their bits, we wanted to put them at the centre of our campaign.

LBB> AMV BBDO landed on an experimental, playful and provocative tone, why did you go down this approach? It’s pretty out there.

Davide > For a new product launch we needed to do things differently to stand-out in a very busy category. But also, there is a societal shame around body odour; using surprising and funny nicknames like jubblies, paddles, bunda and meatballs allowed us get people to look at / talk about / laugh at their bodies in a disarming way. Pairing this fun human-centric TOV with in-your-face body part imagery, allowed us to make it pretty hard to ignore Brit’s bits.

LBB> What were the key considerations in designing a sniffable billboard, both in terms of visual impact and olfactory engagement?

Esin> What’ll make passers-by stop more than a giant bum and balls? So we kept the design simple – pairing close-ups of body parts, you just couldn’t ignore, with tongue-in-check headlines that invited people to sniff the BUNDA and MEATBALLS. A product demo, with a surprising twist, we let people get up-close and personal to their better-smelling bits by having a sniffable centre of each body part at head height.

LBB> How did this out-of-home activation integrate with the broader 'No More F.O.B.O.' campaign across different media channels and why did OOH feel like the right format?

Davide> It acted as an intriguing teaser for the full launch that will be coming later in April where we’ll have ‘Brits and their Bits’ across social and OOH. But it was another way for us to continue fighting people’s fear around body odour; creating a moment where more people could not only talk about, but engage with, bodies with some levity.

LBB> What role does consumer interaction play in the campaign, and how will the social media component extend the reach of the activation?

Esin> Consumer interaction is at the heart of our campaign – one way was through our sniffable billboard. This allowed our audience to have more of an active role in our work, yes, but also in the all-over body odour conversation. We invited creators down to the site and created content for our own channels. This helped us to spread the word about our activation, increase our media reach, but also allowed us to tap into more communities, leading to interesting debates and conversations around more nicknames.