Huggies, stoking body positivity at the earliest life stages, has launched a music-driven ad campaign that showcases baby bums of all shapes and sizes, with an original earworm song as the soundtrack, a companion storybook and a giveback program for families in need.
The work aims to “celebrate a wide variety of squishy baby tushies,” according to the Kimberly-Clark brand. The videos, along with the brand’s first foray into publishing, come from Chicago-based independent agency Quality Meats.
The multi-layered project, the first from the agency for the new client, isn’t a typical marketing stunt, according to Gordy Sang, co-founder and chief creative officer. The goal is for it to “live on beyond the media buy,” Sang said.
The educational picture book, called The AlphaButt Book: The ABCs of Baby Butts and Bodies, will potentially hit bookstores, Amazon and other outlets to raise money for the National Diaper Bank Network.
“Whenever we can link something to a charitable cause that doesn’t just push a product but can help do good, it’s very fulfilling,” Sang told Adweek.
The effort targets consumers with a message that not all diapers are created equal—focusing on its curve-skimming design and adding an inclusive twist. “No matter what butt you got,” the brand says, “we got you, baby.”
Per the brand’s research, 80% of parents say that product comfort is crucial, with 92% saying they think babies have better mobility while wearing a well-fitting diaper. Yet 1 in 3 survey participants believes all diapers are shaped the same, an attitude Huggies is trying to change.
The commercials, from director Keith Schofield, are currently running on linear TV, online video, digital and social media under the tagline “For All Baby Butts.” Other media buys include print and radio ads. The “Baby Bop” anthem, a catchy upbeat track from FuturePerfect, has dropped on Spotify and Pandora.
In addition to developing the videos, creatives at Quality Meats wrote the storybook and recruited a diverse roster of 26 illustrators, including Christoph Niemann from the New Yorker, children’s book author Tyler Feder, cartoonist Sarah Anderson and street artists Brosmind and Jeremyville.
The book “embodies everything the Huggies brand stands for,” said Robert Raines, vice president of marketing. “Not to mention a fun and memorable way to learn the ABCs.”
