Maytag

To complement its American-imported 30-second brand spot introducing the new Maxima laundry machine, Maytag asked MediaCom to create a tough and uniquely Canadian campaign.

While female-targeted appliance brands typically avoid “male-dominated” environments like sports, data showed that Canadian families – including moms – tune their TV sets to hockey playoffs throughout the summer. MediaCom forecast that the 2011 playoffs would be particularly well-watched, given Vancouver’s possible chances of advancing.

The agency identified NHL playoff hockey on CBC as the medium, and then secured all remaining inventory, consisting of one 10-second spot per game, with priority first-in-cluster positioning. In the creative, players wearing jerseys emblazoned with the iconic Hockey Night In Canada logo come off the ice to find the Maytag Repairman in their dressing room standing alongside a Maxima duo. The players throw their soiled jerseys in the machines, which, as the voiceover reassures, offer the best cleaning in the industry – tough enough even for a team’s worth of hockey gear.

MediaCom secured rights to the Hockey Night in Canada logo at a substantial discount given the non-traditional revenue source – rights that are typically only available to multi-million-dollar sponsors. It also negotiated three bonus laundry integrations on Steven and Chris – the daily lifestyle show enjoyed by moms 25 to 54.

Sales of the Maytag Maxima doubled during the campaign, and overall brand share saw concurrent double-digit growth. The 2011 NHL playoffs were the most-watched in CBC history, driving a viewership index of 149. Game 7 of the final round was the most-watched HNIC broadcast ever. Most notably, the finals saw a 112% increase in female viewers. The co-branded spot scored as high as the concurrent 30-second brand spot in testing. Now that’s maximum impact.