LUX UNILEVER

CASE STUDY SUMMARY:

Problem:

The brief was to accelerate the adoption of liquid body wash amongst bar soap users in India. We discovered that our audience - women aged 30 - 40 y.o. - had no interest in changing their bathing routine. They saw liquid soap as another more expensive format, and not as something superior or exciting. Besides the brand Lux itself had become old-fashioned, and was more often than not seen as ‘my mother’s brand’.

Strategy:

To overcome both product and brand perception barriers, our approach focused on three key shifts

1. Reframe the so-called mundane cleansing product as a pampering, beauty-led experience — transforming its look, feel, and positioning.

2. Redefine the target audience by focusing on young beauty early adopters — girls in their twenties rather than their older sisters.

3. Elevate the brand promise from a purely functional benefit (skin cleansing) to an emotional one: freedom.

   This shift was rooted in a powerful insight — that young Indian women wanted to live a life that felt limitless, precisely because they knew their time was limited.

Creative work:

Our campaign idea became: Live life now or never.

With this approach, Lux would behave like a youth brand - rather than a traditional skin cleansing brand - helping young women make the most of this special moment of their lives, now!

We rolled out an integrated campaign (TVC, Print, Digital, Event, Point-of-sales) in India and other South Asian markets, and created a global toolkit to enable other Unilever regions to implement this new communications model.

Note: I was the lead Strategic Planner on the project at JWT Singapore, reporting to the Head of Planning, and working together with Account Management, Creative and Production specialists.