• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

 

Early in 2023, Arm & Hammer launched “Give it the Hammer,” a multibrand campaign starring HGTV home renovators Dave and Jenny Marrs. It featured the celebrity couple providing “money-saving tips throughout the home using hardworking products at an affordable value,” A&H senior director of marketing Laurie Kirschner explained at the time.

Over two years later, the 175-year-old Church & Dwight brand now focuses on the Arm part of its moniker with “The Whole Darn Arm.” Both campaigns were created by the Via agency.

Instead of a “helping hand,” A&H states in  a :30 spot, “we show up with the whole darn arm.” Visuals show a child using “elbow grease” to brush her teeth with A&H toothpaste, a man rolling up his sleeves besides cat litter, a child using “muscle” to empty a basket of dirty clothes into a washing machine -- all “with the strength of dollars saved and jobs well done.”

“This campaign acts as a reminder of what Arm & Hammer stands for, particularly in today’s climate,” Kirschner tells Marketing Daily. The message, she says, is that “you can depend on the Arm & Hammer brand to roll up our sleeves day after day, mess after mess, and stretch your dollars further.”

The previous campaign had launched “when consumers were emerging from the pandemic and facing the reality of returning to office life,” she explains. “Fast-forward to 2025, and while we're no longer in that immediate post-COVID adjustment period, volatility remains a major factor. Consumers are navigating rising prices at the store and the looming impact of tariffs, which is putting continued pressure on their wallets. Amid this uncertainty, they're seeking stability -- gravitating toward brands they can trust and that help them feel more empowered.”

The target audience is “hard working millennial families the everyday heroes who make life happen: real people, problem solvers, laundry warriors, cupcake bakers, pet parents, science project champions and more,” says Kirschner.

Besides the :30 spot, that audience is being reached with :15 and:06 versions, along with organic and paid social. Media includes broadcast TV that Kirschner says “aligns with lifestyle, family and value-focused programming,” along with streaming TV and social (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube).  Paid media is handled by WPP’s Wavemaker and social media by CHD Digital Strategy.

The campaign will continue throughout the year, with key moments built around the back-to-school and holiday seasons, Kirschner says.

Content partnerships are part of the campaign strategy. “The Whole Darn Arm” threw out its first pitch earlier this month at Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game activities with pitching clinics from someone with a pretty good arm herself: former softball great Jennie Finch. A&H will continue its relationship with MLB Aug. 2 through activations and sampling at the Speedway Classic, a game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.

More than 20 other content creators are also participating in the “The Whole Darn Arm,” including “teen mom” Jeanice Perez and lifestyle maven Noelia Mejia.

The campaign also includes a two-week “Laundry Space Glow-Up” sweepstakes that launched July 28, promoted across social, digital, and in-store channels as well as at the Speedway Classic. Two grand prize winners will each receive a $5,000 e-gift card, ostensibly “to transform their laundry space from ‘ugh’ to ‘OMG,’" while 100 other winners will reach receive $75 Walmart gift cards “to stock up on tons of household essentials.”

The overall goal of “The Whole Darm Arm,” Kirschner says, “is to deepen brand affinity while driving awareness and trial of Arm & Hammer’s array of products.”

Success, she says, “will be measured by engagement with digital content, sweepstakes participation, increased product trial, and positive sentiment around the campaign’s message of everyday empowerment.”