It’s being touted as the biggest brand launch in Unilever Canada history, a claim that’s not hard to believe.

The late-June North American launch of Sunsilk, Unilever’s number-one-selling global haircare brand, centres on the concept of Sunsilk providing ‘Hairapy,’ to treat common problems like frizz and flatness. Unilever enlisted actor Mario Cantone, best known as Charlotte’s snarky gay best friend on Sex and the City, for the TV spots, in which he prompts women to get Hairapy with cheeky comments like ‘Honey, your hair is flatter than your chest. You need hairapy!’

The launch includes ambitious Canadian-specific efforts like one-minute unbranded vignettes on Global and MuchMusic, a cheeky mini-magazine (complete with naughty coupons) to be distributed at retail partners like HMV and La Senza, and several account-specific promotions like a DM campaign with Loblaws, retailtainment efforts at Wal-Mart, and a special edition of the mini-mag at Shoppers Drug Mart.

‘I really wanted to give Canadian consumers the 360 experience,’ explains Jillian McLaughlin, brand building manager at Unilever Canada, adding that most efforts encourage consumers to go for ‘threesomes’ – shampoo, conditioner and crème.

McLaughlin worked with Capital C and PHD on the Canadian efforts, while JWT New York handled the campaign creative for the North American launch.