Can gardening grow a more compassionate generation?
That’s the question that SC Johnson’s Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, a home cleaning and personal brand inspired by gardening, along with agency Ogilvy Chicago and production company Optimus ask us in this installment of Reel Ad of the Week.
The answer is a hopeful yes.
According to a Ford Trends 2018 Global Survey, 75% of adults agree that we as a society are increasingly intolerant of opposing views. We pretty much see evidence of that every day from social media posts to talking pundit heads on CNN and Fox. But even that bastion of open-mindedness, college, is being affected. A Michigan University study says students have 40% less empathy vs. students from the past generation.
However, just when we are ready to throw in the towel, a Texas A&M University study says that people who spend more time around plants are much more likely to try and help others, and often have more advanced social relationships.
Enter the “The Compassion Project.”
The effort is an initiative to teach kids how kindness can be nurtured and grown. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day provided the tools for a Compassion Flower gardening activity where students plant the seeds, while discussing the greater need for empathy and understanding in the world. Seeds were sent to 10 schools as a pilot program in order to serve as a symbol for compassion that kids can see, smell and share – all with the goal of getting more schools involved.
Mrs. Meyer’s worked with a horticultural company to create a new species of hybrid flower: The Compassion Flower. Cross bred from the pansy, which means ‘to think of’ or ‘to consider’ and a spreading viola. Representing that one act of kindness can spread, just like the flower itself. Taking the unique fragrance from the Compassion Flower, ‘sweet with floral notes’, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day created every day personal care products like hand soap to instill the idea that kindness or compassion is a good habit that you can practice every day, just like good hand washing.
For branding, Mrs. Meyer’s turned to Ogilvy Chicago. Together, the team worked to develop the idea of the flower, hybridizing the two together to symbolize compassion. Together they created and shared over 250,000 seeds and planted over 5000 flowers in gardens all over the country. Watch the lovely digital content piece which tells the uplifting story of the Compassion Flower and how the brand is planting the seeds of compassion through schools and with its customers:
“It’s not every day that you can create an idea with a client and watch it grow from a seed to a flower to a product, and make the world a little bit more compassionate as well. The world needs this now more than ever,” Ogilvy Chief Creative Officer Joe Sciarrotta told The Reel.
In addition, Mrs. Meyer’s is giving away Compassion Flower seed packets online with every purchase on MrsMeyers.comfrom May 7 to May 19.
I really respect what the team of Ogilvy (who by the way is kicking ass these days in the creative department), director Jamieson Mulholland and editor Randy Palmer from Optimus and of course Mrs. Meyer’s have created here. Is it really an ad? Eh. But is it powerful and lovely? Yes. The power of the flower gives this team Reel Ad of the Week.
CREDITS
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy Chicago
Joe Sciarrotta– Chief Creative Officer
Nancy Hannon – Global Executive Creative Director
Tereasa Surratt – Group Creative Director
Steve Hahn– Creative Director/Art Director
Christine Montaquila– Creative Director/Copywriter
Taylor Carlson – Art Director
Hannah Mosele– Copywriter
Hanna Lee – Executive Experiential Producer
Katie Shutt–Experiential Producer
Rainbow Partridge – Senior Content Producer
Tracy J. Lee –Illustrator
Peter Medlock – Director
Matt Golin – Editor
Joe Griffin – Audio Engineer
Joan Shelton – Senior Content Production Manager
Antonis Kocheilas- Head of Planning Management
Philip Heimann- Worldwide MD, Global Brand
Susan Stefaniak– Managing Director
Jennifer Kasmarick – Account Director
Kirby McKenna– Senior Account Executive
Lisa Hill – SVP, Global Social Lead
Chelsea Real – Senior Account Executive/Social
Production Company: Optimus
Jamieson Mulholland – Director
Randy Palmer – Editor
Media Agency: PHD Worldwide – Chicago
Anthony Thomas, Group Director
PR Agency: Zeno Group – Chicago
Leilani Sweeney, Senior Vice President
Lindsay Whisler, Account Supervisor
Have new work? Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.
