Kimberly-Clark's colourful B2B ad uses B2C tricks

Ad Nut is rarely sent B2B ads, and with good reason. They’re usually oh-so boooooring. So when Geometry Global sent over this video for Kimberly-Clark Professional’s Kimtech sterile work garments, Ad Nut’s branch was set pretty low on expectations.

A co-production of Geometry’s Singapore and Australian teams, the ad begins as one might expect a safety demonstration would, with a lab technician donning protective gear against a grey backdrop.  The tedium broken up by closeups on innovative features in the suits to cut the risk of contamination with combined mask and head gear, thumb loops and more. To underscore the need for sterility, a robotic camera glides in to record the procedure.

Human contamination is a problem? Tell a squirrel something new please. But just as Ad Nut is about to nod off—a sudden surprise. What is this? Drama! Colour! Music! The robotic arm is spraying the lab workers all over with coloured dye, much like the Holi festival in India where the Kimtech ad is first being launched.

“We decided to scrap the conventional ‘sterile’ approach in this field or communications and show the science behind the garment the way that sports brand would do,” explained Dani Comar, Geometry Global’s Asia-Pacific regional ECD. “With drama and visual impact.”

A contest! A clawbiter! Would Kimtech’s suit hold back the dye and defeat the generic resuable garment competitor? Yes, of course it would. It all ends just like those laundry detergent ads of old, comparing a clean, white, pressed shirt to a competitor’s still mildly stained shirt.

Okay so sexing up a B2B ad with a few tricks from the B2C or sports arena doesn’t necessarily build drama. But when one considers the stakes here, where human contaminations or faulty garments can result in product recalls, plant closures or even workplace accidents or injuries, the branch is raised a little higher.

CREDITS

Planning/Strategy: Gregory Wells
Director of Account Services: Ben Walker
Business Director: Kate Warren-Smith
Creative Director: Jorge Thauby
Copywriter: Victor Bernal
Art Director: Kimmy de Leon

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. Check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame.