• by Larissa Faw , March 17, 2016

House brands Oxo is launching its largest advertising initiative since 1996 to raise its brand awareness, as well as support its new small electronics product line. 

Developed with ad agency MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER, the "Tested on Humans" campaign highlights the intentionality behind the product design. The ads feature imagery of real people and a tone evoking scientific research and data. Collectively, the campaign reinforces OXO’s "promise of quality, authenticity, and distinctiveness" and tries to creatively differentiate Oxo within the household goods industry. 

“At OXO we make a lot of house calls. We watch how consumers interact with products and identify opportunities to solve common pet peeves as well as those that people didn’t even know they had. Our ‘question everything’ philosophy is how we are able to continuously develop solutions that really do make everyday living easier,” stated Lindsay Mecca, senior brand communications manager, OXO.

The brand's integrated campaign includes digital, audio, influencer and paid social media outreach. Out-of-home ads appear in Boston and San Francisco, two markets that have a high concentration of Oxo retailers as well as a mix of urban and suburban residents that match the profile of Oxo's core customer, says the agency. Following this initial campaign launch, additional markets will follow. 

This campaign represents a new strategy for the brand as it decreases its reliance on retail promotional discounts. "So if you went to pick one [from] Bloomingdale’s or other department stores, you will see all kinds of $20 off, $30 off, these kind of things at the consumer level. Obviously, some of that money comes from the manufacturers [but now] we have put less money in that regard and more money into awareness and more and more into product knowledge at the store level," says Julien Mininberg, CEO, Oxo's parent company, Helen of Troy.  

Still, Oxo says advertising is more effective now that Amazon and the Internet are eliminating the need for those promotional discounts and up-front in-store slotting fees. "Online, that playing field is a little more level just because those advantages are not the same for the big guys online," says Mininberg. 

M/H has worked with Oxo since July 2015.