Quilted Northern touts comfort and self-care in social video spots

Brief:

Quilted Northern, the toilet paper brand marketed by Georgia-Pacific, is urging social media users to treat themselves to a #Comfday of relaxation, per a company announcement. The campaign aligns with International Hygge Day, the Feb. 28 occasion of celebrating the Danish concept of coziness that brings about a warm, pleasant feeling.
Quilted Northern enlisted comedian Renny, who has 1.8 million Instagram followers, to promote #Comfday on social media. The brand partnered with creative agency Mekanism and its in-house social media agency Epic Signal to create humorous videos starring Renny.
Charles Ekenga, senior brand building manager for Quilted Northern, said the celebration aligns with the brand's focus on comfort. Todd Feitlin, creative director at Mekanism, said social media pressure is causing millennials to shift from "fear of missing out" (FOMO) to the "joy of missing out" (JOMO) by enjoying the comforts of home.

Insight:

Quilted Northern's social media campaign for #Comfday is an off-beat antidote to advertising that urges people to take action and indulge in self-care. The Georgia-Pacific brand isn't running a sweepstakes, as is common in branded social media campaigns, to compel people to share selfies of how they're celebrating a day dedicated to comfort and relaxation.

Brands such as Revlon, Busch, Cash App, Secret and VitaminWater have run social media campaigns that include contests and giveaways. Typically, those campaigns urge people to follow social media accounts of their respective brands and to post photos with a specific hashtag. Sharing on social media helps to drive viral campaigns, but FOMO is contrary to the spirit of Quilted Northern's "JOMO" effort.

The early viewership numbers of Renny's #Comfday videos on Instagram appear promising, racking up about 400,000 views and about 1,500 comments across three posts as of press time. Comedians are often powerful spokespeople — especially with their ability to go viral — as in Dietz & Watson's "Deez Nuts"-referencing Super Bowl spot and a Fiber One campaign in which Cheri Oteri dished out one-liners.

The viewership numbers of the #Comfday videos also demonstrates the power of influencer content. Marketer spending on social influencer campaigns is forecast to grow this year as brands seek audiences that have shifted their media consumption to mobile devices and social media platforms. More than half (60%) of marketers said they plan to increase their social influencer budgets this year, while 30% plan to maintain them and 2.5% will cut back, according to a survey by marketing platform SocialPubli.com.