Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2019

Explores how the roles of modern men in society are changing and advises on how marketers should respond to this behavioural change in order to effectively advertise to men, particularly across different cultures and at a time of social change.

How a gender strategy can improve your marketing

Article • Amy Fridlund, WARC Best Practice, November 2017

Provides advice for marketers on how to better meet the needs of different genders and highlights the potential problems for brands with gender issues.

How to market effectively to men

Article • Scott Manson, WARC Best Practice, February 2017

This article describes the best practices and principles to keep in mind when marketing to men, a group changed by recent history; ideas of masculinity and roles in society have changed - marketing must change also.

How Old Spice refreshed its appeal to Black consumers

News • 12 December 2019

Old Spice, the personal-care brand owned by Procter & Gamble, has developed its approach to engaging Black men in the US, and yielded powerful results through a nuanced shift in its strategy.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF): From ‘villain’ to ‘vulnerable’: re-writing the story of South Africa’s men and HIV

Case Study • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS Award for Healthcare Research, 2019

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an American private foundation, helped cast a fresh light on young men in South Africa, demonstrating they are complex, vulnerable individuals in harsh circumstances.

Clear: Shopper Pulse

Case Study • Abhishek Gupta, Kitty Faustino, Michael Alegre, Carlos Corrales, Martha Gonzalez, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Best Use of Data, 2019

Unilever-owned dandruff shampoo Clear ran a data-led mobile campaign to carve out market share in the Philippines.

Gillette: Cultural Connections

Case Study • Gilad Kat, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Best Use of Data, 2019

P&G used a cultural connections model to increase Gillette's relevancy among young adult men.

Castrol: Influence the Influencer

Case Study • Benjamin Condit, Chaojie Miao, Rocker Hu, Sienna Zhang, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Lubricant oil brand Castrol used WeChat to build a gamified educational campaign for mechanics to get them onside as influencers in China.

AXE: Boca vs River, the Match of the Century

Case Study • Patricio Shilton, Ornella Carricarte, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Male personal care brand Axe turned to sponsorship to increase awareness and growth in Argentina.

Toyota: Hilux – You’ll be fine

Case Study • Will Jellicoe, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Toyota made savvy media choices to increase awareness and drive consideration of its Hilux model in the UK.

Ford Everest: Carpool Talk

Case Study • Hang Nguyen, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Car-manufacturer Ford used a disruptive content marketing campaign, amplified on social media, to change perceptions of its Everest SUV in Vietnam.

Clear Men: Data Driven Emotion Mapping

Case Study • Soumya Ranjan Panda, Ha Tran, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Best Use of Data, 2019

Shampoo brand Clear Men conducted a TV, digital and out-of-home campaign, #BeYourOwnChampion, built around the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to connect with men in Vietnam.

Oh Henry!: 4:25 Hunger Bar Launch

Case Study • Richard Fofana, Owen Garscadden, WARC Media Awards, Gold and POE Special Award, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Candy bar Oh Henry! reclaimed the number one spot in the candy bar market from rivals Snickers and Mars, and staked a claim to the untapped cannabis-induced 'munchies' space.

Clear: Be Your Own Legend

Case Study • Eugenia Teo, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Clear, a leading anti-dandruff shampoo, maximised mobile with a thematic campaign to appeal to young men and boost sales by trial in Indonesia.

The Movember Foundation: Men, you're not talking, so try ticking

Case Study • Tangrams Strategy & Effectiveness Awards, Bronze, 2019

The Movember Foundation, a charity that aims to tackle the biggest health issues faced by men, got men in New Zealand to talk about their mental health by creating an online survey, the Mensus, which gave them tailored messages to send to friends based on their answers.

Miller Genuine Draft: Fresh Take

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Bronze, X (Global), 2019

Miller Genuine Draft (MGD), a beer brand, increased sales and consumer engagement by launching a campaign that allowed South African consumers to order their packs of beer through a Facebook chatbot and have it delivered in the hour.

Cadillac CT5 ASMR Reveal

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, North America, 2019

Car manufacturer Cadillac used Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos on social media to launch its CT5 model in North America.

Chinese men’s grooming enthusiasm lifts the beauty scene

News • 31 October 2019

The male beauty market is China is exploding as men embrace products like serums and sunscreen – and even lipstick – they are re-defining the traditional industry playbook for brand creative, product innovation and experience design.

sahibinden.com: Image-based car recognition

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Silver, EMEA, 2019

Sahibinden.com, a second-hand e-commerce platform, increased brand awareness and website listings by using a popular viral video as a model for its social media campaign in Turkey.

Rexona: World Cup 2018

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, EMEA, 2019

Rexona, a deodorant brand, increased brand awareness among male consumers by developing a social media campaign in Spain that took advantage of a world football tournament event to showcase its product's effectiveness.

Liga Contra el Cáncer Perú: I Love My Balls

Case Study • SABRE Awards, LATAM, Geographic, Gold , 2019

The League Against Cancer, an institution that promotes the prevention of cancer, encouraged men in Peru to get checked for penile, prostate and testicular cancer by launching a campaign on Instagram that manipulated its famous love heart reaction.

Snickers: You're not you when you're hungry

Case Study • Account Planning Group - (UK), Gold, 2019

Snickers, the chocolate bar brand by Mars Incorporated, launched its You're Not You campaign to appeal to people aged 13-65 across the globe, without alienating its "young guys base", which resulted in increased sales growth and a bigger global market share.

The Senet Group: When the fun stop, stop

Case Study • Account Planning Group - (UK), Entrant, 2019

The Senet Group, an independent, industry-funded body set up to promote responsible gambling standards, increased awareness of the slogan "When the fun stops, stop" to help gamblers put deeper consideration into their behaviour.

Viagra: Sharks, goldfish and the biggest problem no one ever talks about

Case Study • Account Planning Group - (UK), Entrant, 2019

Viagra, a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction, promoted its product to help suffering men in the UK through a TV ad that sensitively showed the craving of feeling, compared to the usual aggressive ad techniques.

Time To Change: From Sufferers to Supporters – How Taking the Indirect Route Drove Direct Behaviour Change

Case Study • Account Planning Group - (UK), Entrant, 2019

Time to Change, a mental health campaign in England, targeted football fanatical, beer-swilling, tabloid-reading 25 to 44-year-old men so they would be better equipped to recognise mental health problems in their friends.