Concept

In the UK, nearly 1 in 3 teens experience online bullying. That's not ok.

As the UK’s No.1 Skincare brand, Simple has always stood for being Kind to Skin. But to launch our new brand purpose – being Kind to People – we wanted to make a real difference.

We couldn’t do it on our own. So, with help from international anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label, and a girl band that has personally been affected by this issue, Little Mix, we encouraged Gen Z to make a stand, wipe away the hate, and #ChooseKindness.

On International Stop Cyberbullying Day, we launched a 60 second film to raise awareness and mobilise UK teens to make a stand against cyberbullying with our digital campaign.

We didn’t stop there. Simple wanted to offer a deeper level of support for bullied teens by directing them to our bespoke hub on Ditch the Label’s website. Using a team of trained mentors and real people who’ve shared similar experiences, they could get one-to-one help and advice.

To show them they’re not alone, we tapped into Little Mix’s own story of the abuse they’ve suffered, the effects on their mental health, and how they decided to #ChooseKindness, giving our campaign a genuine authentic edge that really resonated with our audience.


Execution

In a brand first, we led the conversation on Twitter with a Promoted Trend Spotlight Ad, to get #ChooseKindness trending.

And, the response was amazing. Our videos have 9 million views and counting. Since the launch of our #Choosekindness campaign, every 9 minutes someone in need receives help from Ditch The Label – proof that our Brand Purpose wasn’t all talk, but making a real difference to people’s lives.

With multiple executions spanning across social, VOD, and in-store, our message of #ChooseKindness was everywhere. From a bespoke Snap filter to GIPHY stickers on Instagram, we tailored the creative to align with each platform, making it super-easy to join the Simple Kindness revolution.

Results

- 30% uplift on volume and value sales at Tesco
- +6.9% value sales year on year
- 7% uplift in brand association on Twitter
- 20m video views (all campaign assets)
- Core campaign video viewed on Twitter 7.2m times
- Top of mind skincare brand Simple overtook all category competitors
- 82% on VOD completed views
- 213m impressions total
- 48m reach total
- 364m total PR reach
- 12k organic clicks to ditch the label
- 1.5m organic social reach across the whole campaign
- 16.6k competition entries
- 4m GIF views and counting
- 6k Q&A questions on World Kindness Day
- 38 seconds average Snapchat lens engagement
- 2.5m completions of Snapchat lens game (83% completion rate)
- Voted Best Brand Purpose campaign by Twitter
- Best in class Superdrug activation
- Every 9 mins someone in need receives help

We showed that brand purpose can be a real force for change: not only raising awareness around an important issue but encouraging those directly affected to seek help. The campaign was one of Unilever’s most successful ever purpose-led campaigns, prompting the entire organisation to put purpose at the heart of everything they do.