Naughty and Nice Come Together in Fun Holiday Campaign for Native Deodorant

Native, the P&G-owned personal care brand best known for its aluminum-free deodorant released a campaign on November 1 that is anything but traditional this holiday season. The work from Muhtayzik Hoffer is in promotion of six naughty and nice scents now available. Consumers can choose from Naughty scents like: Lump of Coal, Spiked Eggnog and Fresh Mistletoe, or Nice scents which include: Candy Cane, Sugar Cookie and Yule Log. 

The strategy, based on the real-world truth that no one is completely naughty, or completely nice, was the foundation for the brand to have a little fun with the creative. 

In the hero ‘Traffic Stop’ spot, a police officer approaches a car on a residential street festively lit up. The driver looks shocked when he tells the driver she was going 52 in a 25 zone. The officer asks the driver to step out of the car asking if she has been drinking. She enthusiastically responds saying, “No! I– If you’re smelling something, it might be – I’m wearing a Spiked Eggnog body wash if you want to smell,” offering the officer a sniff of the cinnamon-like scent. Confused and taken aback, he hesitantly takes a sniff, and the woman can’t help but notice the officer’s scent which he says is his Fresh Mistletoe deodorant. They stare at each other, the tension builds, and they fall into each other sniffing one another obsessively. The camera cuts to the driver’s confused - and insulted - husband sitting in the passenger seat. 

In ‘The Job’ spot, a group of tough-looking men are gathered in a warehouse hideout, pointing to a hand-drawn map. Intense heist music plays as they review their plan, when one of the men is distracted by a smell. “It’s my Candy Cane deodorant from Native. I find the peppermint very calming.” The spot cuts to an apartment door, where the men burst in to reveal a child's birthday party. They throw off their jackets and are wearing full clown outfits under. Excitedly, they begin the clown show for the party-goers

The campaign spans CTV, a comprehensive digital and social strategy (across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat), and robust media partnerships with Tinder and The Cut - further enforcing the naughty and nice juxtaposition. The TikTok videos play into the platform’s latest trends, including text heavy dialogues, stop motion videos, and macro shots romanticizing the scents. On Tinder, users will be able to participate in a naughty or nice quiz which will link users to the corresponding product best suited for them. Style and culture magazine, The Cut, will bring hopeful romantics together on its popular series, “The Button,” an unscripted speed-dating series. Self-proclaimed naughty or nice individuals will have a shot at love - or atleast a date.

“This holiday season we wanted to lean into humour to celebrate our quirky and highly crave-able scents,” said Vineet Kumar, Native CEO. “For Native, Naughty or Nice is about recognising that sometimes you can be both and embracing it.”

San Francisco-based M/H, Native’s creative agency, concepted the campaign. “We wanted to give audiences something unexpected this holiday season,” said Joel Kaplan, executive creative director and partner, M/H. “Native’s brand personality is playful, so we leaned all the way in and the result is something that bucks tradition and embraces the naughty and nice in all of us.”

The broadcast spots were directed by David Shane (known for his work with top brands like Apple, Bud Light, and Paramount Plus - as well as his Super Bowl film for Cadillac with Wynonna Ryder and Timothée Chalamet) and Amber Schaefer (recently named to SNL’s production team), both from O Positive Films. “When M/H came to me with a holiday campaign for Native, I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to be a little disruptive and push the comedy to a place that was unexpected,” said O Positive’s David Shane. “Love that we got to make something that’s 15 degrees off center. And to make it with two world class actors, Adina Verson and Rodderick hill. Can’t imagine this piece with anyone else in it.”