Lever Brothers is binning the outdated and patronising twee smiley housewife images associated with detergent advertising in favour of a new animated campaign that admits that washing is just plain boring. The new ads take a more humorous, ironic tone and show everyday situations such as a woman wondering why her live-in boyfriend never does any washing, and a mother thinking it is about time her family did some of their own washing. The advertisements have the endline For life, love and laundry'. Lever Brothers is investing £9m in this campaign which goes on air on August 7. Further TV ads are planned for the autumn, backed by press, poster and radio ads. The same style will be carried though Persil's direct mail and internet activities. Alison Culpin, senior brand manager for Persil, said: "Our new campaign for Persil is something of a revolution in this market ­ there's no science, no mention of the washing process and no mention of stains. "The animated ads depict modern life in an entertaining way, putting the mundane chore of doing the laundry firmily into context." Other cleaning brands are also cleaning up their patronising act. Naomi Campbell is fronting a campaign for Persil Washing Up Liquid. And P&G is running a spoof fine fragrance ad for its Flash All Purpose Cleaner's new Woodberry fragrance. {{P&P }}

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