In July, Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan launched ‘Magical Space Adventures’, an initiative aimed at enhancing knowledge and creativity among children, under their flagship brand, Maximum Cavity Protection.

In Pakistan, Colgate is the market leader in the oral care category, which constitutes toothpastes, toothbrushes and mouthwashes. According to Euromonitor, in 2016, Colgate- Palmolive Pakistan led sales in this category, with a value share of 36%, on the back of timely media spending, effective promotions and engaging brand activations.

In 2016, the Maximum Cavity Protection campaign carried the tagline ‘Na Cavities Ka Dar, Na Pyar Main Jhijhak’ and focused on creating awareness about oral health among children. This time, the focus is on fostering creativity and learning through craft, and this is clearly communicated via their tagline: ‘Cut, play and learn’.

Talking about the Magical Space Adventures campaign, Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan’s brand team say the campaign has two objectives; the first is to develop motor skills in children and give them a learning experience in a fun way. “It is an engagement activity, where their creative faculties are at play. Through this, they can develop individual ways of thinking, questioning and understanding.” The second objective is to reuse the toothpaste pack, which inevitably gets thrown in the dustbin. By printing objects inside, Colgate ensured that the pack is not only reused, but cherished by children, as it contains the necessary collectibles required to imagine their world.

For this regional campaign (it ran in India in the first quarter of 2017), Colgate-Palmolive designed a set of three toothpaste packs with three different space themes; Alien Planet, Space Launch and Space Walk. Each pack has a number of space-related pictures printed on the inside with dotted lines around it so that children can cut them easily. With these cut-out objects and characters, Colgate-Palmolive is encouraging children to weave interesting stories using their imagination.

The ‘Magical Space Adventures’ is available in all seven SKUs of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection and at the same price: 30 g for Rs 20, 50 g for Rs 40, 75 g for Rs 68, 100 g for Rs 88, 150 g for Rs 200, 200 g for Rs 255 and 300 g for Rs 243. Each theme can be identified by its own unique artwork on the pack, making it easy for children to pick the one they want without opening the pack. With a different number of collectibles for each theme, children have a choice to either create a story with one, or add all 18 objects and characters of the three themes and create a bigger, richer story, thereby expanding their creative canvas.

The best part of this campaign, according to the brand team, is that during the activity, children are so engrossed at play that they don’t realise they are learning as well. Also, it does not impose an additional monetary burden on the parents – it all comes with the toothpaste. “Armed with a few space objects printed on a cardboard box and a pair of scissors, the sky is the limit to what they can create.”

In a day and age when children spend most of their time on their screens, the brand team believes such campaigns can encourage children to use their time constructively. “Crafts are popular in Pakistan among children and if a child looks forward to an activity, they will want to keep practising so that they can do it better; it will also help children develop complex skills in future and do well in school.”

The campaign targets children between the ages of six and 12, which is why it was launched in July, during the school holidays. To motivate them further, Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan has asked the children to send their stories in any format: pictures, written or video via Facebook, to a postal address, via email or YouTube channel by September 30. The winning entries will be selected and the children will receive a gift hamper from Colgate.

The marketing of this campaign includes a TVC and activation on digital and in different retail outlets throughout Pakistan. As it is a regional campaign, the TVC was shot in India and adapted in Pakistan. Giving details, Ameer Hamza, Associate Account Manager, Spectrum Y&R (the creative agency for Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan) says a new voice-over was recorded in Urdu (executed by Cactus Productions) and the background was modified in order to remove Indian religious symbols depicted on the walls.

The digital strategy, however, was designed by Spectrum Y&R. “We hired different bloggers to create excitement and increase word-of-mouth promotion,” says Hamza, who adds that the bloggers also participated in the ‘cut, play and learn’ activity and posted pictures on Facebook. The agency also developed 15- and 30-second digital videos, adapted from the TVC and created a separate webpage for Magical Space Adventures collectibles.

Although at the time of writing the entries are still coming in, the brand team say the response has been overwhelming. “It is fascinating how every child has a different story to tell, despite the fact that they all have the same set of characters and objects. We are very pleased to bring out this kind of creativity.”