Submitted by Smoking Gun

Original Source X Jamie Laing - Big Morning Energy

Smoking Gun built a two video influencer partnership with Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo for Original Source, and reports sales of a key SKU rose 67% YoY in Tesco.

Sales of a key SKU rose 67% YoY in retailer TescoSKU sales increase YoY in Tesco
The content exploded immediately - driving 4.5 million views and 1.4 million engagements.first video views
Market penetration up 27%market penetration increase
2.3 million engagements across social channels - surpassing campaign KPIssocial engagements
13.5 million reach across social channels - surpassing campaign KPIssocial reach

Case in 60 seconds

Original Source needed to sit front of mind with consumers, which meant turning the shower gel brand's 'Energy from Nature' mantra into culturally relevant communications that could ignite conversation rather than simply restate a product benefit.

The campaign appears to turn on a news agenda the agency describes as overwhelmed by conflict and chaos, because both media and consumers were reaching for lightness, so fun and humour offered a way in that felt welcome.

'Nature Hits Different' was the creative platform for all brand comms, framing a boost of energy as something delivered to actual people in their own bedrooms and doorways rather than claimed in product messaging.

Radio 1 presenters Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo fronted two videos for the Original Source social community, the first a prank morning wake-up call in which Jamie ushers brass band Mr Wilson's Second Liners into their bedroom. The second showed Jamie surprising the competition winner on her doorstep with holiday vouchers and a suitcase of product, supported by always-on trend-led posting and press work on shower and morning routine stories.

Smoking Gun reports sales of a key SKU rose 67% YoY in retailer Tesco, market penetration up 27%, spontaneous brand awareness up 21% YOY, and 26 million video views, 2.3 million engagements and 13.5 million reach across social channels.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Consumers, described on the page as the target audience the work needed to excite, reached through the Original Source social community and through media coverage of morning and shower routines.
Smoking Gun frames a news agenda overwhelmed by conflict and chaos, so lightness and humour became the opening the brand used, which suggests the tension was less about shower gel than about what audiences and media wanted to give attention to.
Shower gel is bought on habit, and the page's own success measure is consumers agreeing the brand 'is different from other show gels', which suggests differentiation rather than persuasion was the problem the work set out to solve.
The brand acted as the supplier of a morning boost, in the films and in the prize alike, while the PR team positioned Original Source as the authority on shower related stories such as hacks for better mornings and the sleepiest cities.
The agency reports comments full of heartfelt reasons for nominations, which suggests the mechanic worked because naming a friend who needs a boost is an act of care people will perform in public rather than a simple prize entry.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • YouTube

Partners

  • Smoking Gun (lead_agency)

Participation mechanic

  • Fans were invited to nominate a friend in need of a morning boost, with each nomination entering that friend for a £10,000 holiday in nature and a year's supply of Original Source.

Creator role

  • Jamie Laing — creator
  • Sophie Habboo — creator

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult type
SKU sales increase YoY in TescoSales of a key SKU rose 67% YoY in retailer Tescoperformance
first video viewsThe content exploded immediately - driving 4.5 million views and 1.4 million engagements.video_views
market penetration increaseMarket penetration up 27%performance
social engagements2.3 million engagements across social channels - surpassing campaign KPIsengagements
social reach13.5 million reach across social channels - surpassing campaign KPIsreach
social video views26 million video views across social channels - surpassing campaign KPIsvideo_views
spontaneous brand awareness increase YOYSpontaneous brand awareness rose by 21% YOYperformance

Why Smoking Gun's strategy worked

  1. 1

    A celebrity film gains a second life when it carries an entry mechanic, because the nomination gave viewers a reason to write in the comments rather than only watch, which the agency reports produced 1.4 million engagements on the first video.

  2. 2

    Running a sequel that pays off the first film's promise, here the doorstep handover to the winner, closes the loop for an audience that watched other people enter, so the competition reads as narrative rather than administration.

  3. 3

    Casting a couple who are already a public story lets a prank premise work without setup, because the relationship supplies context that a single presenter would have to explain before the joke could land.

  4. 4

    Positioning the brand as a source of comment on shower and morning routine stories gave the PR team a reason to be quoted outside campaign moments, which extends a burst of celebrity content into ongoing coverage.

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