by Todd Wasserman on Mashable
It’s come to this: Even marketers of trash bags have a social media marketing strategy.
One of the top players in the category, Glad, launched a Facebook- and YouTube-based campaign for its Black Bag line on Thursday. The brand, which is owned by Clorox, has typically had a TV-heavy media strategy, but is “exploring the impact of a social campaign,” a rep says.
Reasoning that not many people will talk about trash bags per se, the brand has instead veered the conversation into the craziness of domestic life. Research revealed that families are using the Black Bag, which was designed for outdoor work and moves, for everyday indoor use. The outsize bags are particularly popular with parents with multiple children at home.
Glad has used that insight to anchor a campaign around a fake reality show called The Wild Life that features five wild animals living in one house. The animals — a bear, a chimp, a raccoon, a beaver and a duck — were created through animatronics by puppeteers who worked on Jim Henson’s the Muppets. In addition to the video, there’s an app that will make a short video personalized for you based on your Facebook profile. You can also create your own video — albeit one based on elements chosen by Glad — using the app. In addition, if you “like” the Page, you’ll be entered to win $25,000 in a sweepstakes.
The brand has also enlisted some celebs for the campaign, sort of: Amy Smart, Jesse Eisenberg, Lauren Conrad and Emanuelle Chirqui have donated “the remnants of wild moments” which artist Jason Mecier has used to develop “custom art pieces” that will be auctioned on eBay on the 10 days surrounding Earth Day.
