Ronseal, one of the UK’s most famous brands with one of the most famous straplines. But after 20 years of relying so heavily on that line the brand had begun to get lost. Anyone under 50 thought ‘Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin’ was a phrase Ronseal had borrowed rather than one they’d created. It had become a catch-all everyday phrase for honesty, even on occasion being used by other brands or by those of questionable honesty. Politicians! Satire aside, the brand needed to be reinvigorated for a new, younger audience and reconnect with it’s roots as the original straight-talking brand.
Our guiding principle became that we always speak the truth, no matter how challenging that might be. In fact we took it to the extreme by identifying '‘DIY’ itself as the brand enemy. Think about it, DIY is awful, every job you’ve tried ends up leading to blisters, messes, ‘that’ll do’s’ and very often an argument. So we decided to say that in the ads and then explain that’s exactly why Ronseal does exactly what it says, to help you can get it over with quickly and easily. That level of bravery for an actual DIY brand led to 10 years of strong and innovative work. Hat tip to the clients.
The first work above was classic TV and radio advertising that highlighted the new approach. But that led to ‘Ronseal Apology’ and the ‘Ronseal Ad Break’. There are separate case studies on these, but in short, both were the brands first big venture into using channels in different ways to connect with a new audience.
Apology was the first time the brand had used social but it was more than that, it create an interactive story all around the strapline. The following year Ronseal Ad Break took those principles even further, a multi-channel event that reached millions of people in one of the most high-profile campaigns of the year.
‘Do The DIY’ used hypnosis techniques to finally convince people to get out there and get the DIY done. All within the rules of TV, I don’t think we actually ended up hypnotising anyone. A bit of fun but one that we made sure that the product was at the centre of.
Each year we always looked for new tech or channel innovations to help us., the binaural audio is one example but we followed up with a collaboration with Channel 4. A battle royale between two rivals, one wanted you to spend your weekend watching TV and the other painting fences. It was the first time a brand had been allowed to interact with the iconic Channel 4 blocks within the channel’s own branding. Over the course of a Friday night the two fought it out for viewers attention across idents and brand social.
We also took on some of the other things that distract us from the DIY, with contextual ads placed alongside films, sports broadcasts and property shows. Even creating the UK’s first TV ad with a personalised voice-over, the spot voicing the actual names of viewers to call them out directly. These used data to trigger names over VOD.
Each year we adjusted the story to meet different challenges identified by research, as consumer behaviour changed we adapted. The ‘Ronseal Pocket Parent’ helped give people the help and advice they need to get the job done well. The first thing the younger audience usual do when approaching DIY is to call a parent, so we created a parent that would fit in their pocket. Fully interactive through FaceBook Messenger, it dispensed tips and how-tos at any stage of a job. We’d partnered with the Mens Shed Association to find our pocket experts, an ongoing relationship with this mental health charity that still continues.
We’ve arrived in 2019 and the pandemic brought a completely new challenge. With people in lockdown and at home so much, DIY became something to do and even ‘enjoy’. Our enemy was now a friend. ‘The Great Garden Revolution’ rose to this, we created the first ever gardening show that was a bit more straight-talking, a bit more Ronseal. Practical, down-to-earth ways to get a great outdoor space without all those airy-fairy latin plant names. Just simple solutions to create great gardens.
The show ran Saturday nights on Channel 4, with additional content to create social engagement featuring extra tips and how-to’s. It was the channels most heavily product orientated partnership to date, with multiple Ronseal products acting as a solution in each show. And it was a success, a second series was commissioned and the show concept even went on to be sold to channels around Europe.
On every brief I’m always looking for every opportunity to push the idea. Always in the main thought but sometimes it’s in the small and unexpected too. Like a special build poster made from seed-paper that you can tear off and plant in your own garden. Ronseal was a gift that kept on giving, with nearly 70 awards in 10 years across categories from strategy to craft to creative, as well as PR and media. But only because we constantly challenged and pushed every thought every year.
