Our parents always told us to tell the truth, but some truths are harder to deliver than others. TheraBreath and social-led creative agency Kill Boring Dead have come up with a solution: ‘P.S. Your Breath Stinks’, a social campaign that lets the brand do the awkward bit for you.
The campaign allows people to nominate a friend, colleague or loved one to receive a surprise “fresh breath assist” package from TheraBreath.
Consumers can nominate someone at www.psyourbreathstinks.com, with 500 PR giveaway boxes being sent out to deliver the message in person. For those who miss out on a box, TheraBreath has also created formal letters and sample packs to ensure the message can still get through.
@kaitlinandjosh Shoutout to @therabreathanz for telling Kaitlin her breath stinks for me! Nominate someone who ALSO needs to hear the bad breath news at psyourbreathstinks.com and TheraBreath will deliver the message straight to their door for you FOR FREEE | AD
The campaign is built around a surprise-led microsite and SMS journey, supported by creator content, PR giveaway packages, social engagement and an activation at Melbourne Central.
It kicked off with a bad-breath prank featuring TikTok duo Kaitlin & Josh, before extending into influencer seeding, TikTok and Instagram content, organic brand and community engagement, and two giveaways including a year’s supply of garlic bread and a year’s supply of Segafredo coffee.
“We’re really, really proud of this campaign. The whole idea is built off the human truth that it’s so awkward to tell someone their breath stinks,” said Rosie Brown, Head of Strategy, Kill Boring Dea.
“Even though it’s the nice, the right, and the best thing to do, no one wants to do it because we don’t want to upset someone. So, we thought we’d just ask TheraBreath to do it for us.”
“This is exactly the kind of work that makes me love my job,” said Ainslee Baruhas, Head of Client Partnerships, Kill Boring Dead.
“It starts with a single, sharp insight, which you hand to creators who know how to bring it to life, but you need a brand bold enough to let that happen. That’s what made the TheraBreath campaign so much fun to build. We kicked things off with a ‘bad breath’ prank fronted by Kaitlin & Josh, one of the platform’s most-loved duos, and it landed even better than we’d hoped. There’s no product shot, no brand mention, nothing that screams ‘buy this product.’ Just a funny bit that feels completely native to who Kaitlin & Josh are, while still nailing the exact idea at the heart of the campaign. That’s the difference between renting an audience for a post and understanding how to use a platform. And the best thing about this campaign is TheraBreath’s team are as excited about it as we are.”
Alison Tyssen-Hall, Senior Brand Manager – Oral Health, Church & Dwight, added: “The opportunity for us was to take something people generally avoid talking about and make it impossible to ignore.”
“Bad breath is a very real, very human problem, but conversations around it can be awkward. ‘P.S. Your Breath Stinks’ gives people a fun way to start that conversation, while putting TheraBreath in the middle of a genuinely useful and memorable experience.”
The campaign targets Australian adults aged 18 and over, with a particular focus on socially active Gen Z and millennial consumers who engage with humor-led content, TikTok and Instagram culture, creator campaigns and peer-to-peer sharing.
Credits
Church & Dwight
Alison Tyssen-Hall: Senior Brand Manager, Oral Care
Azmara Mannan-Perera: Brand Manager, Oral care
Paul Makomaski: Head of Digital
Jeanne Bourgeois: Marketing Strategist
Nicky Dolman: Marketing Director
Kill Boring Dead
Marcus Willis: Director & Co-Founder
Jackson Springer: Head of Brand & Co-Founder
Rosie Brown: Head of Strategy
Ainslee Baruhas: Head of Client Partnerships & Influencer Lead
Gwendolyn Tan: Head of Community
Caitlin Adams: Account Director
Sam Arevalo: Strategist
Ant Dinham: Senior Campaign Producer
Ollie Sievers: Content Producer
Shinji Kaneko: Senior Designer & Web Developer
Gelo Lasin: Social Media Executive
Pio Moralde: Community Manager
Nisa Fitri: Video Editor
Ian Rabang: Graphic Designer
Agency Partners
Incubeta: Media
Riser: Seeding Partner
