SINGAPORE — Lifebuoy, Unilever’s largest hygiene soap power brand, has collaborated with Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippopotamus that became a viral sensation, for its iconic “H for Handwashing” global movement which transformed the letter “H” into a universal symbol for handwashing. The campaign was developed with creative agencies MullenLowe Singapore and MullenLowe Lintas India.
In Moo Deng’s first ever branded content video, titled Confessions of Moo Deng, the popular hippo hilariously confesses that she would hate to follow in her mother’s footsteps — in fact, footsteps of her entire family by being a part of the alphabet book as “H for hippo” to teach the letter H to humans. In the video, Moo Deng opines that she is super talented and can do more with her life than becoming another hippo that represents the letter H. When observing the habits of hundreds of humans she sees daily, Moo Deng realizes that the letter H should stand for something more useful to humans: handwashing.
To further her mission, Moo Deng requests that humans scan a QR code, where they will be introduced to an AI-augmented hippo teacher who comes alive to teach #HforHandwashing to kids in interactive and engaging ways, including hyper-customized games, activities, and songs enabled by AI.
Along with Moo Deng, Lifebuoy’s one-of-a-kind AI-powered handwashing teacher, AI-Teacher Hippo, is a significant leap forward in Lifebuoy’s commitment to making handwashing with soap a habit for life for children all over the world. Since 2020, Lifebuoy has led the charge in revolutionizing hand hygiene education through the brand’s award-winning “H for Handwashing” campaign.
Khim Yin Poh, Global Brand Vice President at Lifebuoy, said, “We are thrilled to work with the world’s most popular and adorable hippo Moo Deng, and the most tech-savvy and loving AI-Teacher Hippo, for our ‘H for Handwashing’ campaign. As the world’s number one selling germ protection soap, Lifebuoy’s global movement aims to forever change how the alphabet is taught, with the simple recommendation that the letter H should not stand for hippo, horse, or house but should instead become a ubiquitous symbol for handwashing. We believe having the endorsement of Moo Deng in her first ever branded content video will reinforce our important message for children and adults alike, as a step towards improving handwashing behavior around the world.”
Lifebuoy has sparked a global movement that has successfully woven essential hygiene practices into school curriculums by partnering with parents, educational institutions, governments, NGOs, leading institutes such as Sesame Workshop, and hundreds of influential people — and now animals — around the world. The “H for Handwashing” movement has reached more than 14 million children across 35 countries.
At a crucial time when 646 million children still lack basic hygiene services at their school, as reported by the World Health Organization/UNICEF, highlighting the importance of prioritizing hygiene in schools, AI-Teacher Hippo steps in as a game-changer, teaching kids essential concepts such as germ transmission, the hidden risks of seemingly clean hands, key occasions for handwashing with soap, and the proper steps of handwashing with soap.
Vinay Vinayak, Global Business Director at MullenLowe Singapore, said, “Every year Lifebuoy celebrates Global Handwashing Day as a marquee event, and this year, we want to reach out to more children and adults alike with our two new lovable champions: Moo Deng and AI-Teacher Hippo. While Moo Deng can win over audiences and convey the important message of handwashing through her adorable personality, AI-Teacher Hippo will be able to capture different children’s preferences by offering unique personalized experiences that make hygiene education both fun and unforgettable.”
Sarvesh Raikar, President of Creative at MullenLowe Lintas India, said, “As the world is looking at innovative ways to use celebrities and influencers, we are proud of how we could use a unique global personality like Moo Deng to refresh our multi-country behavior-change campaign #HforHandwashing. Moo Deng (Hippos) was integral to the campaign idea, and the video ‘Confessions of Moo Deng’ helped us deliver the core idea in an unsuspecting, memorable way.”
This Global Handwashing Day, Lifebuoy is partnering with MullenLowe Singapore and MullenLowe Lintas India, Aircards, Microsoft, Columbia Business School, and esteemed experts in gaming, behavior change, hygiene, and education.
CREDITS:
Brand: Lifebuoy
Client: Unilever
Agency: MullenLowe Lintas India and MullenLowe Singapore
Creative Team: Sarvesh Raikar, Joybrato Dutta, Theodor Sandu, Nhu Tran, Prashant Pawar, Modhurenu Dutta
Account: Vinay Vinayak, Sharmine Panthaky, Prathamesh Kulkarni, Mehak Parikh
Creative Producer: Fuzzy Abideen
Client: Khim-Yin Pho, Parnil Sarin, Aarti Daryanani, Payal Shah, Amanpreet Singh, Anwesha Mishra, Sneha Raghavendra, Diane Lim, Alokedeep Singh
Production Partners: Bullet, Bangkok
Director: James Teh, Amit Pandirkar
Music: Aman Pant
Post House: SKD Studio (Sunil Kumar Dwivedi)
Tech Partners: Aircards
