Girl humour is rare in ads. It’s great in ads; women are still the primary purchasers in the world. Born Social has created great girl humour for personal care brand, Suave’s, new exfoliating body wash collection.
The social-first campaign promotes the range for those whose clothes still smell like their ex. Because who wants that? Smell Like Your Ex(foliating Body Wash) imagines the “thrift store for clothes that used to belong to your stank *** ex”. A hero social film and three vignettes are set inside a local thrift store called The Ex-Change. Shot like a throwback, homemade thrift-store commercial, the film follows a deadpan store representative as she wanders the aisles addressing the camera. Customers line up clutching items left behind by their exes, from stained overalls to oversized novelty items, as tongue-in-cheek sections categorise different “ex” archetypes. The film culminates with a customer trading in her ex’s hoodies and receiving a fresh hoodie and Suave Exfoliating Body Wash, ending on a knowingly awkward product reveal that positions the body wash as an empowered upgrade to smelling like your ex.
The campaign idea was gleaned from social listening and taps into Gen X’s interest in thrift culture, shedding emotional baggage and the exfoliating, scent-led benefit of the product. The thrift concept also nods to Suave’s long-standing focus on everyday affordability.
“This campaign marks an important moment for Suave as we launch our new exfoliating body wash collection and take a modern approach to connecting with Gen Z by hacking into their feeds through entertainment,” stated Tina Ghory, senior director, consumer engagement at Suave. “Smell Like Your Ex(foliating Body Wash) reflects how we’re evolving as a brand and showing up differently, speaking the language of this audience and bringing our There’s More To It positioning to life in a way that feels relevant, accessible and native to social.”
Directed by Tessa Greenberg, selected for her comedy and improv experience, the campaign prioritised casting social comedians rather than traditional actors, with time built in for ad-libbing and freestyling. The talent reflects a diverse range of backgrounds, relationships and expressions, with Greenberg closely involved in casting and performance shaping throughout the process.
“This campaign shows what it looks like when social leads the thinking from the start,” commented Paddy Smith, chief creative officer at Born Social. “By treating social as a space for brand building, not just content distribution, we were able to ground the idea in Gen Z culture and shape the work in a way that feels native to how people actually engage with brands today.”
The campaign will run across US social platforms, supported by merchandise drops and mailers.
Credits
Client: Suave
Chief Marketing Officer: Rachel Behm
Vice President, Innovation & Brand Equity: Rafael Lopes
Senior Director, Consumer Engagement: Tina Ghory
Agency: Born Social
Senior Creative: Ryan Warnberg
Chief Creative Officer: Paddy Smith
VP of Clients & New Business: Sarah Rainford
Strategy Director in UK Strategy: Alice Thompson
Account Manager in UK Client Services: Laura Howard
Associate Production Director in UK Production: Laura Taylor
Senior Motion Designer in UK Design: Beth Riley
Director: Tessa Greenberg,
Production: Craft Films Ltd
Partner & Executive Producer: Phil Meyers
Media Buying: Stella Rising
