How We Got 1.2 Billion TikTok Plays Singing about Tangle Teezer Hair Brushes

Tangle Teezer was aware its bubblegum teen-pop customers were growing up and they needed to appeal to a wider audience. It was time for a rebrand. A fresh new tone of voice that felt relevant to the Gen-Z audience. The brand wanted to make noise... so we got ourselves into the recording studio and created a song that reached 1.2 BILLION plays on TikTok.

 

Our mission was to produce a global campaign that spoke to a more ‘woke’ youth culture and find a way to land the key point of difference that Tangle Teezer’s teeth technology glides through hair effortlessly without breakage of the hair. More creatively expressed in our new brand line, “the power’s in the teeth”. 

 

For 10 years Tangle Teezer had been one of the bestselling hairbrushes in the world and their marketing had always lived in a ‘90s Paris Hilton, fluffy pink aesthetic. They were losing touch with their audience. Our strategy was to hold up a mirror to the lives of their customers, speak their language and bring the product along for the ride.  

Our hero film campaign presented a glimpse into life outside of the girly bedrooms and into a world that is fresher, edgier, that has more bite to it than any other hair brush brand. We took real situations and instead of polishing the aesthetic we focused on the energy, colour, authenticity and youthful power that came with a free lifestyle. Power was our power word, and the edgier vibe had more bite for us to champion Tangle Teezer’s proprietary flexible teeth technology. Powerful teeth meant empowered customers. 

 

As we boldly brought to life the new creative and as we tucked into TVC production the brand unleashed it’s next challenge - they wanted to break TikTok. We smiled and nodded, knowing it’s a labyrinth that no one completely understands unless you are a 15 year old girl who likes Dua Lipa or you are savvy at learning dance routines. Nervously, we logged in to what felt like the dark web of content, an agency's biggest fear - self-shooting teenagers who are generating more hits than any campaign you have worked on.

 

At Sticker, we pride ourselves on being a cross-disciplined team of creatives and makers. I am also a photographer, a number-one-selling country musician and songwriter. So I anxiously took on the challenge of writing a song that could infect the ears of youth culture. After hours of listening to the songs that are popular on the platform I realised that sassy lyrics, simple beats and songs that gave points of action were strong contenders in the viral market. 

 

To match the tone of the global TVC campaign we knew we had to get people to feel sassy, sexy and ‘boujie’. At the heart of the writing process we had to keep the feeling of empowerment at front of mind. 

 

We need to create a song with simple instructions, basic dance moves or something Dua Lipa or Nikki Minaj would top the charts with. A challenge for a 31 year-old country singing EP and an agency of (not young enough) creatives. And if that wasn’t enough, we had to keep our mission to subtly land the brand line “the power’s in the teeth”!

 

The answer was thinking about our audience, their world, their routine, when they use a Tangle Teezer and what makes them feel fabulous and empowered. We gave them actions like  ‘I brush my hair”, “I gloss my lips’. Each line of the song was thought about with a clear action in mind so that anyone could join in and do it.

 

This was paired with a Billie Eilish style whisper and a hip-hop trap beat. It was beginning to feel like the perfect medley of all things the generation loved. 

 

The result was almost unfathomable. Within a day the song had become the number-one trend on TikTok with people all around the world singing along. 

 

The campaign was a huge success and Tangle Teezer had firmly established its position with the younger audience. After a week it had received 1.2 billion plays on TikTok. Our film campaign ‘Power’s in the Teeth’ won a gold Telly Award for best branded content (is now live on the Tangle Teezer site). 

 

We often get clients saying “we’d like to go viral” and we’d be lying to say we know exactly how to go viral again, but listening to the sound of youth culture was a great start.