• by Les Luchter , June 28, 2024

In separate hair-raising promotions this summer, Nutrafol and Nix are giving away free product.

Nutrafol, Unilever’s hair growth supplement brand, says that extreme heat can cause increased hair shedding, so it has offered a free month’s worth of product to consumers in any Zip code where the temperature exceeds 95 degrees for three or more days straight. Running till summer’s end, the promotion requires consumers to take out a new three- or six-month product subscription in order to get their free month.

The brand, citing results of a survey it conducted earlier this month of 1,500 men and women aged 18-60, says that while 90% of respondents “know that extreme summer heat can impact your hair,” 43% don’t take “precautions to protect their hair against extreme summer heat (defined as 90 degrees or greater).”

A Tuesday Nutrafol TikTok post, offering the freebie while telling consumers that “harsh heat conditions can exacerbate external stressors on your strands,” resulted in more than 800 views over 24 hours, but the brand won’t tell Marketing Daily how many redemptions have occurred nor how many different zip codes have qualified due to the recent record-setting  heat wave.

In addition to owned social channels, Nutrafol says it’s driving consumer awareness of the offer through earned media coverage.

Nix, Prestige Consumer Healthcare’s lice prevention brand, is using the web to urge parents who have seen a louse -- or multiple ones -- to call 888-EWW-LICEand scream out their disgust. The “Nix Lice Scream Line,” open all summer, will reward screamers with free Nix Lice Prevention Daily Leave-In Spray “while supplies last.”

“Hey there nit-ninja mom or lice detective dad,” says the voice on the other end of the phone line when you call. “So your kid has got some unwanted critters? Take a deep breath and let it all out with a good old scream after the beep. After, leave your email.”

Nix, which says that 54 % of parents are unaware that lice can be prevented, has also published a “How to Have the Lice Talk” conversation guide. Designed to make it easier for parents to talk with friends and family about their kids having lice, the brand notes that spreading the word can help “put the kibosh on spreading those critters.”

Nix’s Daily Leave-In Spray launched in late 2022 on Amazon, adding distribution in CVS and Walgreens stores a year ago.