Staying alive, with shiny pearly whites

As a woodland creature well versed with the ways of the jungle, staying alive, gathering food and keeping shelter trump any thoughts of impeccable dental care when one is out in the wilderness. So, watching Red Fuse's work for Colgate Total alternately amused and enraged this creature.

While one is a big fan of Megan Hine's edgy survival shows (not so much her fetish for snacking on all things creepy and crawly), this campaign has made some tenous connections between choice of toothpaste and staying alive in the treacherous jungles of Panama. "Out here, there's danger in what you see and what you don't—like bacteria," she claims. "I'm an expert survialist, that's why I rely on Colgate Total." 

Following the launch of the Colgate Total ”Made for Greatness” campaign in 2020 with mountaineer Jimmy Chin, the new campaign continues the storytelling of pushing physical limits to achieve the almost-impossible, with high performers striving for greatness in extreme circumstances.

To highlight the 12-hour antibacterial protection of Colgate Total, the storyline centres around Hine, best known for her work with Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild, and her mission to make her way out of a forest with limited daylight.

The main campaign is supported by an interactive digital activation campaign. Titled “The Total 12-hr Challenge with Megan Hine,” watchers are invited on an immersive journey on YouTube to help Hine make critical decisions involving food and water sources, as well as physical journey decisions, through a five-part series.

The integrated campaign includes TV, OTV and shopper marketing, in addition to experiences created for digital and social media channels. The campaign will be rolled out in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

While we'd back Hine to pick the best adventure gear and teach us the least painful way of snapping blood-sucking leeches off of you deep in the tropical jungle, her pitch for this toothpaste lacks bite. As this creature can testify, when you are on a hike deep in the jungle, any toothpaste is a bonus.

"When you're out here, the last thing you should worry about are your teeth," she herself states. Then pitching "Colgate's most total anti bacterial protection" and luxuriously brushing her teeth by the river side seems like an odd way to hawk a toothpaste brand. 

Then oddly, the campaign ostensiably for a toothpaste brand, makes a confusing segue into asking consumers to choose what insect Hines should snack on, because that's what the locals snack on. Unless these critters have some teeth-cleaning or breath refreshing qualities, this creature was quite lost by the time the video ended. 

CREDITS

RED FUSE

Caroline Slocombe - Regional Managing Director, APAC
Daniel Cullen - Regional Client Service Director, APAC
Kenny Choo - Regional Executive Creative Director, APAC
Jessa Bartolabac - Regional Associate Strategy Director, APAC
Orlando Hooper-Greenhill - Regional Interim Head of Strategy, APAC
Ellen Soh - Regional Senior Account Director, APACAndrea Chang - Senior Account Executive, APAC
Guillaume Lamy - Regional Creative Director, APAC
Jim Fong - Regional Creative Director, APAC
Fariz Azlan - Regional Creative Director, APAC
Kusuma Arunanondchai - Regional Art Director, APAC
Virginia Tse - Regional Head of Production, APAC
Alec Cheung - Regional Producer, APAC
Xea Kho - Regional Comms Planning Director, APAC
Robert Sue - Regional Media Lead, APAC
Sandy Tan - Regional Chief Digital and Data Officer
Stephen Dwyer - Regional Digital and Audience Director

COLGATE

Yves Briantias - Vice President Marketing, APAC
Lyndon Morant - Marketing Director IMC
Hardik Jhavari - Associate Director, Innovation APAC
Pimphan Suwanprateep - Group Brand Manager, APAC
Edward Chen - Senior Brand Manager, APAC
Shourav Sen - Director of Insights
Rupam Borthakur - Director Insights & Analytics
Farheen Romani - Head of Insights, Innovation and Brand Experience Planning

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. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.