McCann London and Dettol Celebrate Germy Behaviours

McCann London today announces the launch of "Spread The Love, Not The Germs" a new creative platform created for Dettol, the hygiene brand owned by Reckitt.

Dettol’s latest poll research shows that British consumers see their homes as clean and germ-free for the most part, only considering germs in specific high-risk contexts. 

"Spread The Love, Not The Germs" challenges this perception by undertaking a strategic shift; moving from simply highlighting germs, to reminding people how they spread. The platform highlights that the people we love spread germs, and because our homes are the epicentres of busy family life, they can quickly become far more germy than we think.

The new platform highlights that germs don’t simply appear by themselves; they’re spread by the people we share a life and a home with, but Dettol can give them everything they need to keep doing all the things they love, with the people they love.

The hero 60” film, created by McCann London, follows the endearing relationship between a brother and sister engaging in everyday activities such as throwing used socks at one another, pulling spag-bol faces, and playing balloon keepy-uppy with their dog. This kind of creative storytelling signifies a big step for Dettol, representing a shift from product superiority stories to a focus on the human connection that the product enables. 

The campaign sees Dettol partner with Channel 4, in a deal negotiated by Zenith UK, to bring the nation’s germy behaviours to life. Studio Lambert, producers of Gogglebox, has created bespoke ads and social media content for the campaign which sees Goggleboxers including Pete & Sophie and Giles & Mary, do what they do best, share their sentiments on the campaign’s hero film and their own observations of their families' germy behaviours. This partnership will see the much-loved Goggleboxers share their germy moments as well as unseen clips from filming. The alliance is a category first, with Dettol being the first cleaning brand to do a Gogglebox review ad. The content aired on Friday 10th May.

A PR activation in support of the campaign has been spearheaded by IPG agency, Golin, highlighting how family members can spread germs around the home without even knowing. In partnership with TV home expert Sarah Beeny, Dettol has created a limited-edition GermWare of items made from copper, a naturally antibacterial material. The collection, which includes a TV remote, games console controller and mobile phone case, is used to highlight the behaviours in the home that spread the most germs, for example sharing a remote.

Further, a team of micro-influencers, organised by McCann Content Studios, are driving discussions around the germy habits and behaviours of their loved ones, to start a cultural celebration of the germ spreading behaviours we all have.

The campaign is now live across AV, VOD, Digital & Social in the UK and has been adapted across Europe, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. The “Spread The Love, Not The Germs” campaign will run until mid-November.

Dettol’s existing brand tagline “We Protect What We Love’ will continue to run across other markets.

David Shillcock, marketing director at Reckitt, said, “We're thrilled to introduce this new creative platform created in collaboration with McCann London. A significant step-change for our Dettol brand, it’s a testament to our commitment to the joy of shared experiences, as well as a celebration of the germy, messy, fun-filled lives of our consumers. This platform not only captures the essence of Dettol's mission to keep families healthy, happy, and thriving, but also resonates with consumers on a personal level, reminding them that while the people we love may inadvertently spread germs, Dettol empowers us to keep on doing all the things we love to do, with the people we love.”

Matt Crabtree, creative director at McCann London, said, “Germs don’t spread germs… People do. We’ve created a campaign that celebrates our loved ones’ germy behaviours like eating snacks before licking fingers and then swiping an iPad. But not in a finger pointing way. We’re celebrating germ spreading in joyous, uplifting, witty ways, show people bonding with loved ones, despite their germy behaviours, because Dettol has got it covered. At the heart of the campaign is the shift from the functional aspect of Dettol as a germ-kill brand, to a brand that is much more focused on the everyday human behaviours that can contribute to germs spreading; a more emotional and relatable territory.”