Case Study: Mr. Clean's Digital Marketing Strategy in Super Bowl LI

This case study analyzes Mr. Clean's digital marketing strategy, focusing on its Super Bowl LI ad campaign. The assignment examines the ad's debut, which cost approximately $5 million, and its impact on the target market of middle-aged females. The analysis delves into the emotional response to the ad, highlighting its humorous sexualization of Mr. Clean and its viral success on social media platforms like Twitter. The campaign's use of interest-based segmentation is also discussed. The case study explores how the ad, which trended online, aimed to create a lasting impression and generate a return on investment. It also references the brand's history and its evolution in advertising. The references included in the assignment are Forbes.com, CNBC, and the official Mr. Clean website, providing sources for the analysis of the marketing strategy and its reception.

Running head: DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital Marketing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note

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DIGITAL MARKETING
The brand
Mr. Clean is the name of the brand owned by Procter & Gamble, which is used for an all-
purpose cleaning. The product was created by Linwood Burton as an effort for cleaning ships
back in his days instead of just paying huge amounts. He later went on to sell the product to
Procter & Gamble. With its television commercial in 1958, within six months it became the best
and high-selling household cleaner available in the market. Its initial live-action versions were
portrayed by character actor House Peters Jr. After 60 years of existence they made it into Super
Bowl (Mr Clean®, 2017).
Analysis
Super Bowl LI is Mr. Clean’s Super Bowl debut after 60 years of existence. The super
Bowl spot cost the company around $5 million, excluding production costs (Breslin, 2017). The
success of all this ad lies in the occurrence that the sexualization of Mr. Clean ended up being
comical as it was revealed that he is just a figment of imagination of the woman, who was seeing
her husband cleaning. This is the secret of the advertisement’s huge success, the source of
memes and thousands of middle-aged women swooning over Mr. Clean on social media. With
this move, Mr. Clean joined the bandwagon of Super Bowl brands that have used sexual
innuendo, however this campaign is not those usual run-of-the-mill advertising effort. The aim of
the brand was creating a seductive male who would dance his into the heart (or kitchen). The
target market for this campaign and product is definitely the middle aged females. The subject
the campaign broach is for a co-ed audience, all the way talking about cleaning and dividing
chores between men and women. The ad prompted users to engage with the brand on Twitter.
The campaign brought context to it with the help of interest based segmentation (Wedel &
Kamakura, 2012).

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DIGITAL MARKETING
Summary
Mr. Clean, with its debut ad in Super Bowl, became the most talked about ads. With its
television commercial in 1958, within six months it became the best and high-selling household
cleaner available in the market. After 60 years of existence, they made it into Super Bowl.
Emotional analysis showed the ad brought about joyous emotion mostly, with people saying
they enjoyed the ad. Some even went on to express their attraction for the CGI Mr. Clean. The ad
flew around the internet and has been described as being bizarre and shareable. It trended on
Twitter moments after its airing (Handley, 2017). However, to continue creating a lasting
impression and acquire a return on investment, Mr. Clean as a brand requires nurturing new
impressions and connections it built with this expensive campaign. The aim of the brand was
creating a seductive male who would dance his into the heart (or kitchen). The target market for
this campaign and product is definitely the middle aged females. The subject the campaign
broach is for a co-ed audience. The ad prompted users to engage with the brand on Twitter. The
campaign brought context to it with the help of interest based segmentation.

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DIGITAL MARKETING
References
Breslin, S. (2017). Mr. Clean Sexes Up P&G's Super Bowl Ad. Forbes.com. Retrieved 5
September 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2017/01/29/mr-
clean-sexes-up-pgs-super-bowl-ad/#2145cc312176
Handley, L. (2017). These are the most socially engaging Super Bowl 2017 ads so far. CNBC.
Retrieved 5 September 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/31/these-are-the-
most-socially-engaging-super-bowl-2017-ads-so-far.html
Mr Clean®. (2017). Mrclean.com. Retrieved 5 September 2017, from
https://www.mrclean.com/en-us
Wedel, M., & Kamakura, W. A. (2012). Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological
foundations (Vol. 8). Springer Science & Business Media.