surf clothes care

Unilever is expanding its Surf portfolio with the launch of Clothes Care, a laundry detergent range designed to help maintain original colour, which will be supported by a £2m push.

Available from this month in two formats - liquid (23 washes) and capsule (16 washes) - the new line-up comes in Perfect Black and Vibrant Colour variants (rsp: £5) offering “powerful cleaning and long-lasting freshness”.

Perfect Black - promising an “exotic midnight orchid and lily fragrance” - had a specially designed formula to help ensure dark clothes stayed looking new for longer, said Unilever, while Vibrant Colour was created to keep colourful clothes looking brighter for longer while delivering the “fun, fresh” scents of wild poppy and violet.

The NPD’s packaging features the new Surf look unveiled last year as a part of a rebrand, combining a floral design with bold rainbow shades for Vibrant Colour and a combination of purples and blacks for Perfect Black.

The £2m marketing activity backing Clothes Care’s launch will include a TV campaign, set to begin on 22 August. The range had been introduced because “most UK consumers already sort their washing loads by colour”, said brand manager Michelle Kimber. Surf is currently riding a 2.7% swell in sales to £130.4m [Nielsen 52 w/e 2 January 2016].