• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, October 16, 2020

The makers of Degree deodorant fear that staying out of circulation for all these pandemic-fueled months may have left you flabby.

The brand points to a recent Gallup survey that found people have exercised 38% less during the crisis. So it launched an out-of-home ad campaign to encourage you to use spare moments to get yourself back in shape with some calisthenics.

Many of the OOH messages are placed in specific types of locations and  include ambitious suggestions such as “Bus Late? Try 20 lunges for every minute you wait” and “Sitting All Day? Try 5 deep jumps before and after you drive” or “Still Walking? Put on a good beat and move those feet.” There are eight different messages.  

Of course, exercise creates sweat -- and that’s Degree’s sweet spot, so to speak. For the last five years, Degree has trumpeted that it’s the only antiperspirant designed with “smart capsules” that react directly to movement and stress.

Lucy Attley, marketing director for Unilever brand, said in a phone interview, “If you were here with me. I’d tell you to smell a piece of [Degree-infused] fabric , and then I’d ask you to rub it together and smell it again.”  The Degree Motion Sense technology would activate a fragrance.  

The brand advertises, “With 48-hour sweat protection and motion-activated freshness, you stay fresh, cool and confident to tackle whatever stressful situation comes your way.”

Attley said the OOH advertising approach appealed to her because it lets Degree get its message to consumers at potentially stressful situations, like when they’re trying to get somewhere fast.

The outdoor signs now showing in 90 U.S. markets are part of Degree’s #KeepMoving campaign and digital videos that feature NBA star Kevin Durant. The former Golden State Warriors star’s foundation and the brand donated $1 million to 10 recreational centers and sports programs to keep kids active during the pandemic. (Durant, now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, stayed out during this season recovering from an Achilles tendon torn during a Golden State playoff game in 2019.)

There’s probably nothing more stressful than a worldwide health crisis, but Attley says while the pandemic seem to be good for business, it hasn’t really worked that way. Degree sales are slightly down -- because while COVID-19 might be causing some real worries, it has been keeping people at home, making their body odor a personal problem only they, and those who are close to them, have to deal with.

Attley points out these billboards make no allusion to COVID-19.  The Degree OOH displays suggesting waiting for public transit or getting caught in a traffic jam are, in a way, hopeful reminders of the old stress points.