Colgate-Palmolive Co. has chosen Walrus to handle creative for its Hello brand, and the independent agency’s first work for the brand launches today on social and video platforms.
With the new campaign aimed at young millennial-headed families, Colgate wants to continue Hello’s momentum, which has continued since it acquired the brand in 2020.
Walrus landed the account late last year following a review, though the company chose to wait until the campaign launch to announce the assignment. Red Fuse, a bespoke agency within holding company WPP, handles most Colgate-Palmolive creative work. But the marketer has at times previously worked with outside independent shops, such as for the Irish Spring Super Bowl spot in 2022.
“We needed an agency that understood the essence of Hello and the uniqueness of the brand,” said Kristen Babkes, senior director of integrated communications planning at Colgate-Palmolive. “It was just very clear to us [Walrus] had the ability to blend the creative and strategic insight into a fresh perspective for the brand.”
Hello toothpaste is known for flavors with such names as Unicorn Sparkle (tastes like bubble gum), strawberry and watermelon, which aim to make tooth brushing more like fun and less like a chore.
The ads, with the tagline “Everyday Yay,” are about making life “a little kinder, healthier and more fun for families,” Babkes said. They focus on the appealing flavors (or the cocoa scent in the case of deodorant) and “friendly ingredients,” which include a recently launched whitening toothpaste that uses vitamin C as the whitening agent.
Bringing together a boutique agency with a brand such as Hello, which still operates like a small growing company, “seemed to be a great fit,” Babkes said.
“The Colgate team has been really intentional about figuring out what was good about Hello and resonating with the consumer base and maintaining that,” said Deacon Webster, chief creative officer of Walrus. “They didn’t just come in and say we’re going to do things our way. They were very intentional about keeping the good things and just amplifying those.”
Hello’s growth
Craig Dubitsky, Hello’s founder, stayed on with Colgate to assist in the transition and other innovation at the packaged goods giant, but has since moved on to co-launch the Happy coffee brand with Robert Downey Jr.
Dubitsky had good things to say about his Colgate experience at the Ad Age Business of Brands conference in Chicago last week, where he praised the company’s openness to bringing in an outsider like him to provide fresh perspective. That opportunity, he said, was key to him choosing Colgate over other suitors who just offered money, he said.
At the time of the deal, Hello was outselling Colgate, Crest and Sensodyne at Dollar General and was the fastest-growing oral care brand at Walmart, Dubitsky said.
And in packaged goods, a business where many acquisitions by big companies fare poorly, Hello has stayed on a roll at Colgate-Palmolive. Hello toothpaste’s household penetration has grown 26% over the past year, Babkes said, with consumption up 35% through Aug. 24.
The new work from Walrus aims to build momentum further “by really bringing to life the Hello voice,” she said, “with that whimsy that brings magic to the everyday with those mundane moments.”
