TP brands typically play a one-ply upmanship game on the softness front in a battle of the cuddly icons, but Scott Paper’s Cashmere has taken it to a new level, using potty tissue to create couture.
Catwalks are the new black
Seems a lot of brands that aren’t traditionally beacons of fashion are getting onto the runway. Wal-Mart staged a fashion show in downtown Toronto for its George line of clothing recently (see Biz, page 11) and L’Oréal bowed its first products-driven beauty runway last month as part of its title sponsorship of Fashion Week. And while Scott just launched its first student-designed couture collection as part of a finely woven campaign that spans TV and print ads and an online contest, it can claim prior ownership of this runway-as-media turf.
Its White Cashmere Collections in 2004 and 2005 had 16 top Canadian fashion designers creating garments from white cashmere fabric to begin to link the softness of cashmere wool to Cashmere TP in consumers’ minds. Both years generated more than 125 million impressions and over $3 million in audit value. In its latest iteration, Scott corralled design students from Toronto and Montreal to craft garments composed entirely of toilet paper. ‘We created the competition to celebrate news that Cashmere, the progressive evolution of Cottonelle, is taking its place on Canadian store shelves,’ says Nancy Marcus, VP of marketing at Mississauga, Ont.-based Scott Paper.
The students began with 10-ft.-wide sheets of uncut Cashmere bathroom tissue then did everything from twirling it into yarn and knitting it, to creating a papier maché corset. Ultimately, 16 contributed to the first-of-its-kind Cashmere Bathroom Tissue Couture shows held in Toronto and Montreal. Attendees were largely press, and with results still coming in, Scott had received 34 print articles, 37 broadcast segments, and 25 online articles. Impressions were at 58 million and the PR value was $850,000. All the garments are now on view at cashmere.ca where Canadians can vote for their favourite and vie for a trip to Fashion Week in NYC. Print, TV and online advertising drive to the site.
Meanwhile, the eye-catching TV and print brand advertising out of john st. pick up the roll so to speak by featuring a fabulous ball gown made of toilet paper. PALM Arnold did French Canada. Strategic Objectives originally devised the White Cashmere Collection fabric-to-brand link concept, and this year saw a benchmark of brand marketing integration with the development of the student competition, the advertising campaign and the website by Propeller Digital.
