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Febreze revives digital holiday campaign with fresh faces

Febreze is reinstating its The #12Stinks of Christmas campaign through a digital rollout on YouTube, with social and Snapchat components to come this holiday season.

The Procter & Gamble property had debuted the campaign last holiday season, and this year Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison are replaced by legendary beatboxer Doug E. Fresh and social media sensation Doug the Pug. Febreze premiered a music video on YouTube to kick off the campaign, and its channel will be host to recurring updates for those in suspense at how Mr. Fresh and his canine colleague will address the deluge of holiday season odors.

?The holidays are an exciting time of the year, but with the endless cycle of guests, parties, and stale leftovers, they can also stink?literally,? said a Mandy Ciccarella, communications manager at Procter & Gamble. ?We feel it is important to step back from the seriousness of the holidays and encourage families to laugh at themselves and these very relatable stinks. 

?Even with the elements of family, pets, weather, and everything else fighting you this holiday season, you can eliminate the #12Stinks of Christmas with Febreze and be guest-ready all season long," she said. 

Holiday campaign
The first music video features Mr. Fresh quasi-rapping over a jingle, the sung chorus a meditation on the many smells of the holidays?cooking smells, bathroom smells, and, of course, pet smells. Not one to leave such slander unaddressed, Doug the Pug scratches a record on the decks. 

Any dramatic tension stimulated by the presence of the #12Stinks is quickly alleviated by Mr. Fresh and his horde of Febreze products, including candles, plug-in air fresheners, and spray air fresheners, which he wields with great aplomb, while also beatboxing. 

International fans of holiday-themed odor-centric rap campaigns need not fret, as Febreze is planning a rendition of the commercial in the United Kingdom featuring British comedian Paul O?Grady.

Let us all hope this is not the final collaboration

Digital first
It is no surprise that Febreze would attempt to recur the #12Stinks campaign given the success of the initial iteration the year previous, and it seems that the company is also sticking to the omnichannel approach to help buoy it, with digital ads, special content on the brand?s social channels, and a Snapchat component. 

?We?ve leveraged a scene from this year's The #12Stinks of Christmas video to create a Snapchat ad that highlights a household holiday stinks in a quick and relatable way, with Febreze as the fresh hero in the end,? Ms. Ciccarella said. ?In a platform where attention is fleeting, we needed a stinky cue that immediately communicates odor. 

?In this case, our cue is a festively dressed Doug the Pug to represent common pet odors (to be fair, Doug truthfully smelled delightful),? they said. ?In this way, we were able to ensure visual consistency with the full video and include our odor-eliminating message in a few short seconds. 

?These ads will run until Jan 1 between users? stories.?

Canines have been a consistent target of Febreze's campaign of calumny

The decision to stick with the same campaign may also be due to creative austerity: Procter & Gamble reduced its overall agency costs last fiscal year by approximately 15 percent while getting a lot more out of its digital, mobile, search and social programs (see story). 

The corporation also decided to step back from Facebook ads that target specific consumers, highlighting how mobile data can drive precision advertising (see story). 

?Doug E. Fresh is known for keeping things, well...fresh! He is a true artist and hip-hop legend, so working with him to remix The #12Stinks of Christmas was an easy decision,? Ms. Ciccarella said. ?Fresh is also a family man, meaning he knows the stinks of the holiday well.

?Last year Doug the Pug had a cameo in our video, and this year he is the co-star of Febreze?s hip-hop music video alongside Doug E. Fresh.  He even has his own line in the rap, ?Five pugs in sweaters.?

?We loved working with both of our Dougs, and the fact that they share a name?it?s perfect!?