Overview

As the UK’s number one men’s skincare brand, NIVEA MEN plays an important role in the everyday lives of millions of men across the UK. Men put their trust in the brand’s products and for this reason, it looks to extend its care beyond just the skin, aiming to make a broader difference to men’s lives.

As part of International Men’s Day, NIVEA wanted to address one of the biggest issues affecting men across the UK: Loneliness. We all know that men often struggle to communicate and share their problems, which can often cause mental health challenges to worsen. So, we sat them down for a chat.  

Challenge

Male mental health in the UK is at a crisis point. At the time of campaign development in 2020, one third of men said they often felt lonely and the suicide rate in England and Wales was at its highest point for two decades. Men in the UK needed help, now more than ever (YouGov October 2020) (ONS: Sept 2020). At the point of campaign launch, the UK was in its second lockdown and the issue was only getting worse. But, how do you reach out in a country that was locked down?

Strategy and Approach

To make a difference, we needed to understand the driver of the problem men were facing, and the behavioural change we needed to affect.

We found that the root of the issue was down to in men’s communication – or lack of it. Men didn’t feel comfortable opening up about their problems, resulting in them feeling like they had to face them on their own.

We needed men to understand this wasn’t the case and others felt like them. They needed to know it was ok to reach out.

Communication was at the heart of the problem – and we needed to make it part of the solution, showing that everyman could sit down, and talk openly and comfortably without judgement.

Solution

So, that’s what we did. We sat them down for a chat - one on one.

A chat with a man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

A man who could easily be a friend.

A man who understood what people were going through, and knew how to help.

We delivered this message through a film. Just a film. No special effects or clever editing. Just one shot, in a familiar environment that allowed men to feel as though they were sitting across the table from a friend. An intimate scene that heroed the words and nothing else.

We aired the film at a time when it was needed the most, going live on International Men’s Day, whilst the UK was in lockdown, and distributed our film through paid social so that we could speak to them personally.

Results and Learnings

The film was viewed over 4m times generating over 29m shares in under a week, but perhaps the best way to demonstrate the true impact of our film on our target audience is to show you a Instagram direct message we received in response.