Kenvue became my main client around 2023. They didn’t have the same kind of conceptual needs that Tyson did, so there weren’t opportunities to do omnichannel campaigns and all that jazz. That doesn’t tend to lead to the kind of work that makes for sexy portfolios. But over time I’ve realized (thanks in part to a quote from Mad Men) that no matter what the output looks like, at the end of the day, this job boils down to strategic problem solving with creative flair, and with all the brands under Kenvue’s umbrella, there are a lot of unique problems to solve. Sometimes, problems within problems. Which leads us to project number one - Kenvue Value.
This KV was the result of several rounds of creative development for a complicated Kenvue program. It was one of those fun combinations of conflicting communication priorities.
Communicate that Kenvue’s value comes from its efficacy.
Communicate accessibility.
Imply that Kenvue fits within any budget…
…but Kenvue is actually on the pricier side, so don’t say it’s cheap or affordable.
Communicate effectiveness of care products without implying that these products eliminate the need for medical care.
Don’t say the word ‘health’.
We liked where we landed with the language. It hit on all the required priorities in a nice, succinct, conversational way that didn’t toe any tricky legal lines. And then…
…one of our account folks stumbled on this ad from a competing company, quite literally at the very last minute. Client had approved the work, and we were about to go into production. So then we had to pivot, and do the exact same exercise again. Same priorities as above, but now the words ‘Well’ and ‘Wellness’ became a little problematic. For example, ‘Wellness at Your Fingertips’ was the next obvious solution, but a little too obvious, and a little too close for comfort.
The solution I came up with was a line that both implied the result of Kenvue’s line of personal care products as well as a competitive claim to quality for the umbrella brand itself, that would also allow for pulse period flexibility, something that’s not always asked for at the outset of a campaign but we know will come eventually.
The line started at simply, “Reach for Better”. Unfortunately, the word ‘Better’ is an inherently tricky legal word, because it always begs a couple questions. “Better than what?'“ and “How is it better?”. Multiply that by about a billion when you’re talking health or health-adjacent categories.
But that’s why God invented loopholes. For presentation, we went with a qualifier literal to the brief. (More options were presented, of course, but for the sake of brevity we’re sticking with the winner).
Once the client made their choice, and the real work started, the flexibility, well, flexed.
This project isn’t going to win a Lion, but I thought it served as a good microcosm of the kind of work I do on a daily basis. Distillation of heavy strategy, walking a tight rope of legal constraints and linguistic limitations, while still trying to deliver a creatively satisfying end-product.
Next up, a Band-Aid project aiming to remind consumers to be prepared for holiday wound care before the season gets underway. Challenge here is, how do you keep the work fun and holiday friendly while still speaking to the fairly serious problem it’s designed to solve? “For When Your Kid Inevitably Sticks an Ornament Hook In Their Thumb” probably wasn’t going to cut it.
Kenvue also has entire lines of products entirely dedicated to childcare. This work also tends to present plenty of opportunities to have a little fun. This pediatrics display was a Walgreens exclusive.
Within this category, we also did an Amazon brand page, in which the client also wanted to incorporate product education. So for this job I served as both creator and editor, to ensure the educational content didn’t bog down the end goal, which was to sell products.
A big part of the shopper job is adapting brand language to better fit the context of what we do. A bigger part of the job is doing that when it’s not explicitly asked for. The first display was our ‘give the client exactly what they’re asking for’ version, with their provided headline. On the second, I adapted their language to better fit the context of the tactic.
