Dive Brief:
- Clorox-owned Glad demonstrates the sealing power of its Press'n Seal wrap in a new four-plus minute YouTube video, "Off-Road Kitchen Challenge," with comedian Grace Helbig, who makes a Hawaiian poke bowl while bumping along in a kitchen on a moving flatbed truck, according to details the brand shared with Marketing Dive.
- In the video, Helbig peels back and releases the fresh ingredients in the Glad-wrapped bowls while bumping along a dirt road in an attempt to make an Instagram-worthy poke bowl. The bumping bowls were not tied down and so they bounced off the moving set. "The great thing," Helbig deadpans in the video, "is the cleanup is very minimal."
- The video was created and produced by digital studio Portal A.
Dive Insight:
The Glad video follows last year's "Upside Down Kitchen” video with food influencer and YouTube creator Hannah Hart, who made a burrito with ingredients from magnetized, Glad-wrapped bowls — while suspended upside down in a kitchen. Together, the two videos demonstrate how a brand can, through creative thinking and an entertaining presenter, turn an ordinary household product demo into funny skits designed to engage YouTube viewers and hopefully encourage them to share the content. The central idea — that Glad tightly seals bowls of food — comes across as the hosts attempt to make a dish in spite of the laws of physics.
By leveraging a digital platform like YouTube, Glad is able to stretch itself creatively and tell a story that is over four minutes long, much longer than the average TV ad. The videos are part of Clorox's cross-brand marketing strategy to leverage influencers and video. Last year, for instance, the company's Pine-Sol brand worked with YouTube personality Ianna Sarkis to share the "cleaning dance" for the chance to win $5,000.
"We love being a partner creating content that can break through the noise, and working with creators allows for that in ways traditional advertising doesn't," said Nick Montgomery, an associate director of marketing at the Clorox Company, in a statement.
Helbig has appeared in her own YouTube channel and podcasts, as well as a variety of other entertainment vehicles, including the web series MyMusic and a brief run as the host of her own E! TV network show. Hart is known for her "My Drunk Kitchen" series, where she navigates through recipes while drunk.
The videos tap into the creative energy, ad lib skills and followers of these two up-and-coming performers, while capturing the thing marketers most want: people watching their product demos in their entirety.
