Tag: Draftfcb Brazil

NIVEA: Protection Ad

Last year NIVEA transformed a regular print ad into a portable solar charger for smartphones. Now in its latest ad, NIVEA has made the right side detachable, so people on the beaches of Brazil can use it as a trackable bracelet.

Parents who want to keep an eye on their children can rip off the bracelet, attach it to a child’s arm, and then download the companion app. In the app, they can add each child’s name and set the maximum distance each child can wander. If a child goes too far, the app sends a loud alert.

From print to proximity

The clever part is that it is not just a “detachable freebie”. The bracelet is described as embedding Bluetooth proximity tech, so the printed unit becomes a functional signal that a phone can detect and monitor.

In FMCG innovation, utility-based media works best when the object removes a real anxiety in the exact moment the product is used.

Why the idea lands on the beach

NIVEA’s product promise is protection, but protection on a beach is not only about skin. It is also about the panic of losing sight of a child in a crowded, noisy, high-movement environment. The bracelet reframes the brand benefit from a claim to a service.

The mechanism is also instantly explainable. Tear it out. Put it on. Set a safe radius. Get alerted. That simplicity is what turns a print placement into something people talk about, and something press can repeat without over-explaining.

Business intent

This is a campaign designed to win preference in a category full of parity. It makes NIVEA Sun Kids feel like an innovator in a place where it matters, and it creates a reason to choose the brand that is not only SPF.

The work later received major awards recognition, including winning the Mobile Lions Grand Prix at Cannes Lions.

What to steal

  • Turn media into a usable object. If it solves a real problem, people keep it and share it.
  • Map the utility to the brand promise. The best “useful ads” make the benefit feel literal.
  • Make setup frictionless. Clear instructions and a fast pairing experience are the difference between buzz and abandonment.
  • Design for the real environment. Beach. Noise. Distance. Movement. The alert has to work in the messy world.

A few fast answers before you act

What is NIVEA’s Protection Ad?

It is a print ad that includes a tear-out bracelet for children, paired with a mobile app that alerts parents if a child moves beyond a preset distance on the beach.

How does the bracelet connect to the phone?

Coverage describes the bracelet as using Bluetooth proximity technology. The phone detects the bracelet, and the app uses distance thresholds to trigger alerts.

Why does this count as strong “useful advertising”?

Because the ad delivers a real service in-context. It does not only talk about protection, it provides an extra layer of it during a real beach day.

What is the biggest risk with safety-themed tech campaigns?

Trust and reliability. If pairing fails, alerts misfire, or the experience feels unclear, the concept turns from reassurance into frustration.

What should you measure if you build something similar?

Redemption and pairing success rate, app installs driven by the ad unit, repeat usage during real outings, and brand preference uplift versus a control region or period.

NIVEA: Solar Ad Charger

You are on the beach, your battery is dying, and the solution is sitting inside a magazine. NIVEA Sun and Draftfcb Brazil built a print ad insert with real solar panels and a USB port, so beachgoers could plug in and charge while staying in the sun.

The mechanism is the message. The ad is not “about” a product benefit. It behaves like one. Put it in sunlight, connect your phone, and it becomes a small piece of beach kit.

In consumer brand marketing, the most memorable activations turn a media placement into a useful object that fits a real moment of need.

Everything in the context ties together cleanly. Sun. Beach. Sunscreen. Mobile phone. Solar charger. The usefulness makes the brand feel present without asking for attention, because the attention arrives naturally once the ad starts solving a problem.

When “print” becomes a product

This is a simple but important shift. The ad is no longer a container for persuasion. It is a container for utility. That makes the experience inherently shareable, because the story people retell is not “I saw an ad”. It is “I charged my phone with a magazine”.

Why this idea lands on a Brazilian beach

Beach time is long, bright, and social. It also creates a predictable friction point. Phones run out of battery, and leaving the spot to find power breaks the day. A solar-powered insert fits the environment and the behaviour, so the concept feels obvious in hindsight.

What to steal for your next activation

  • Start with a real constraint. Battery anxiety is a better brief than “increase awareness”.
  • Let the medium carry the meaning. Solar charging in sunlight communicates the sun story instantly.
  • Make the interaction self-explanatory. A USB port is a universal instruction set.
  • Design for the “tellable moment”. People share utilities they did not expect to find in advertising.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the NIVEA Solar Ad Charger?

It is a magazine ad insert created for NIVEA Sun in Brazil that includes thin solar panels and a USB port, allowing readers to charge a phone using sunlight.

Why does this count as interactive advertising?

Because the viewer has to use it. The interaction is physical and immediate. Place it in sun, connect a cable, and the ad performs a function rather than only communicating a claim.

What makes the idea feel so “on brand”?

The utility is inseparable from the product context. Sunscreen is used in the sun. The charger also only works in the sun. The message and the mechanic are the same thing.

What is the main lesson for FMCG launches?

If you can turn a placement into a small, relevant tool, you shift from attention-seeking to value-giving. That typically increases recall, sharing, and positive brand association without needing complex explanation.

What is the most common pitfall with utility ads?

Overengineering. If it requires special setup, fragile components, or unclear instructions, people will not try it. Simple inputs and fast payoff matter more than novelty.