Submitted by EdelmanAgency IPI Score 94/100

Dirt Is Good

Influencer Marketing

Edelman helped Persil reframe outdoor play as essential, showing children spend less time outside than maximum security prisoners, driving 58 million impressions and 293 pieces of coverage.

58MImpressions
20KWebsite visits
293Coverage pieces
78%Parents whose children often refuse
80%Parents whose child prefers virtual

About the campaign

Laundry detergent is a low-engagement, price-sensitive category, but Persil and OMO's Dirt Is Good platform, developed with Edelman, sidestepped product claims by taking ownership of a social problem: the decline of outdoor childhood. Edelman Intelligence research across 12,000 parents in 10 countries surfaced the arresting truth that children spend as little time outdoors as maximum security prisoners, with 78 percent of parents saying their children often refuse to play without technology and 80 percent saying their child prefers virtual sports to real ones.

The 2016 Free the Kids film, shot at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in the US, made the prisoner comparison visceral, distributed online and in cinemas across the UK, Brazil and Turkey, with education expert Sir Ken Robinson as global spokesperson in his first brand partnership. By 2025 the problem had become structural in Turkey, where urbanisation left children with few places to play and OMO's meaningfulness score had slipped 4.3 percent over two years, so Edelman converted three Istanbul billboard sites with no nearby play areas into working installations featuring a slide, a football goal and a basketball hoop.

The brand reports more than 16,800 children engaged and 569 hours of outdoor activity, with nearly half of participating children saying they would not otherwise have played outside, alongside self-reported lifts of 24 points in purchase intent and 18 in consideration.

Case in 60 seconds

Modern children in markets including the UK, Brazil and Turkey were spending dramatically less time outdoors, with Edelman Intelligence research finding 78% of parents said their children often refuse to play without technology and 80% said their child prefers virtual sports over real sports outside. By 2025, OMO in Turkey had seen its meaningfulness score decline over two years while challenger brands gained share.

Primary research across 12,000 parents in 10 countries surfaced a single arresting human truth: children spend as little time outdoors as maximum security prisoners. In Istanbul, urbanisation had left children with fewer dedicated places to play, making the problem structural, not just behavioural.

Rather than claim product superiority, the brand took ownership of a social problem — the decline of outdoor childhood — and committed to making outdoor play happen. The 2016 'Free the Kids' film made the prisoner comparison visceral; the 2025 Out of Home activation turned advertising space itself into play infrastructure.

Edelman produced the 'Free the Kids' film, shot at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in the US, distributed online and in cinemas across the UK, Brazil and Turkey, and partnered with education expert Sir Ken Robinson for media and the brand's first Periscope broadcast. In 2025, three Istanbul billboard sites with no nearby play areas were physically converted into installations featuring a slide, a football goal and a basketball hoop.

The Dirt Is Good platform is reported to have generated 58M impressions, 20K website visits and 293 pieces of media coverage. The 2025 Turkish Out of Home activation is reported to have engaged children with outdoor play installations and generated additional outdoor activity, with the agency citing uplifts in purchase intent, brand consideration and parental relevance, though the specific figures could not be verified against the available source. All effectiveness figures are agency self-reported.

Strategy Breakdown

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

The primary commercial audience was parents who buy detergent for their families. The secondary audience was children themselves, who needed places and permission to play.
Parenting culture in the research markets had shifted toward academic performance and technology use at the expense of outdoor play. Edelman's research found that 80% of parents reported their child prefers virtual sports on a screen over real sports outside, yet parents also feel anxiety about their children's development. The brand sat at the intersection of parental guilt and a category (laundry) that literally depends on children getting dirty.
Laundry detergent is a low-engagement, price-sensitive category. The challenge was to create emotional distinctiveness without making product claims that competitors could easily replicate.
The brand positioned itself as an enabler and advocate for outdoor play, a role that is directly relevant to its product since dirty clothes need washing, but broader than any functional claim.
The campaign identified that children were drawn to convenient indoor and virtual alternatives over unstructured outdoor play. Using an attention-grabbing, research-backed comparison, that children spend less time outdoors than prisoners, gave the brand an emotionally arresting hook that made the issue newsworthy rather than preachy.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • 'Free the Kids' film shot at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, distributed online and in cinemas across the UK, Brazil and Turkey
  • Primary research report from Edelman Intelligence across 12,000 parents in 10 countries used as media asset
  • Twitter Moments promotion — reportedly the first time Unilever used the platform's curated section
  • Periscope broadcast — Persil's first use of the live-streaming platform
  • Three Istanbul billboard sites physically converted into play installations (slide, football goal, basketball hoop)
  • PR and media interview programme across UK, Brazil and Turkey

Partners

  • Sir Ken Robinson — global expert in creative education, global spokesperson (described as his first brand partnership)
  • Project Dirt and Keep Britain Tidy — UK NGO partners supporting Outdoor Classroom Day
  • Parenting forums and influencers in Brazil, Turkey and the UK
  • Creative Salon independently credits Edelman UK as maker of the Out of Home activation

Participation mechanic

  • Children physically using billboard play installations (slide, football goal, basketball hoop) in Istanbul locations chosen for lack of existing play areas
  • Parents and media engaging with primary research findings via press, social and influencer channels
  • Outdoor Classroom Day — one-day event supported by NGO partners in the UK

Creator role

  • Sir Ken Robinson participated in media interviews and hosted the brand's first Periscope broadcast as global spokesperson
  • Parenting influencers and forum partners in Brazil, Turkey and the UK amplified the campaign locally

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Parents whose children often refuse to play without technology (primary research)78%contextAgency reported
Parents whose child prefers virtual sports over real sports outside (primary research)80%contextAgency reported

Why Edelman's strategy worked

  1. 1

    A single arresting statistic, grounded in primary research across 12,000 parents, can carry a purpose platform across multiple markets and media formats without requiring a product claim. The prisoner comparison worked because it was empirically sourced, not a creative fabrication.

  2. 2

    Credibility can be borrowed. Partnering with Sir Ken Robinson in his first brand association gave earned media a reason to report the campaign as a cultural contribution rather than advertising, opening doors that a brand spokesperson alone would not.

  3. 3

    Turning advertising inventory into functional infrastructure closes the gap between message and action. The Istanbul billboard installations addressed both the emotional argument (play matters) and the practical barrier (nowhere to play), which may explain why nearly half of children said they would not have played outside at all without them.

  4. 4

    Choosing activation sites where the need is real — neighbourhoods without existing play areas — made the brand's participation legible and relevant rather than tokenistic, contributing to strong parental agreement that OMO was doing something no other brand would.

  5. 5

    A long-running brand line ('Dirt Is Good') can be renewed repeatedly by attaching it to evolving cultural expressions of the same core idea, extending platform longevity from at least 2016 to 2025 without repositioning.

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