• by Les Luchter , September 24, 2024

Listerine, Kenvue’s 110-year-old mouthwash brand, has worked with creative agency Compound to unveil its second annual “Whoa Collection” designed to up Black representation in the dental community.

Last year’s effort led to a 21% increase in membership at Increasing Diversity in Dentistry (IDID), a nonprofit that works toward that goal, and provided support to 75 IDID community members in the form of dental ambition tests, practice grants, scholarships and more, Kimberly Cheng, Kenvue’s commercial director for U.S. Oral Care, tells Marketing Daily.

“We hope to make a similar impact this year,” Cheng says, with the brand again donating $150,000 to IDID, selling its product in customized bottles and offering a free bespoke music track. A documentary is now also part of the campaign mix.

Listerine points out that less than 4% of doctors are Black, about a third of the group’s percentage in the U.S. population.

“I don’t know how long it will take for us to close that gap,” Cheng says, “but we hope we can make a difference year-over-year as we keep partnering with IDID. We believe it’s going to be a longer-term endeavor and we hope it is more than just a one or two-year partnership.”

The creative center of this year’s “Whoa Collection” is the availability of two colorfully decorated limited-edition bottles at Target stores and Target.com, this year featuring “afrofuturistic” artwork by Hebru Brantley and Frank Morrison.

The free original music track comes from rapper Common. Titled “The Art of Freshness,”it’s available in the TikTok audio library, at Listerine.com and on Listerine’s YouTube channel. 

New this year is a seven-minute documentary directed by Compound Founder/Creative Director Set Free Richardson, which emphasizes the need to increase Black representation in healthcare and showcases the inspiration behind the campaign’s artwork. The documentary will be available on Listerine.com and Listerine’s social channels.