• by Karl Greenberg , April 1, 2008

Salon Selectives, a shampoo and conditioner brand that had its heyday in the 1980s as a Helene Curtis product, is relaunching under the aegis of a new owner, Chicago-based Selective Beauty Brands (SBB).

The company is out with a national TV campaign this week that aims to garner attention by moving away from the usual approach to shampoo: product demos by celebrities and models flipping their perfect hair about their heads like spinnakers. The brand had gone to Unilever in 1996 when that company acquired Helene Curtis for $770 million.

The new campaign effort, via Chicago-based Laughlin/Constable, comprises two 30-second spots breaking this week, a Web site, online media, radio, and national print later this year, per Renee Haber, the agency's EVP/account services. Chicago-based The Well is handling interactive. There will also be word-of-mouth/viral activities (e.g., Sheckys Girls Night Out events), FSI coupons, online coupons and retailer tie-ins.

Haber says the challenge was to bring back the identity Salon Selectives originally had while making the brand appealing to younger consumers. "Unilever tried to evolve the brand to make it more 'cutting edge'; but the brand was known--as an original salon brand--by the jingle, and the pink and coral packaging.

"Our job, coming into it, was to tease out what was still relevant to consumers, and aim for a younger demographic, a 28-year-old bull's-eye," says Haber, adding that the result comprises "action fashion" ads: mini-movies about women who used the customization idea of Salon Selectives to transform themselves into someone else.

One spot shows a woman making a nighttime escape from "Statesville Prison for Women." Cut to a motel, where the now-glamorous woman with gorgeous hair answers the door to find a detective on the other side. "Do I look like I just escaped from a prison?" she says. "No ma'am, you look like you just stepped out of a salon." "Thanks for noticing," she says. The ad closes with shots of different Salon Selective products with V/O saying: "Made to mix and match."

The brief jingle at the end is an update of the original, per Haber. The ads will run on national cable channels, including CMT, E!, Lifetime, Oxygen, the Style Network, and VH1.

Anne West, CMO for SBB, says the brand's core proposition, "customized care for salon beautiful hair," is as relevant now as when the brand initially launched, and after Unilever restaged the brand in 2000 to reach a teen audience.

"The promise of looking and feeling like you just stepped out of a salon really resonates with women, and the personalization aspect of the brand empowers women to select the right products for their unique (and often multiple) hair challenges. In addition, the brand's signature apple scent is fondly remembered and still very appealing," she says.

She adds that the brand is now--or will be soon-in all major food, drug, mass and online retailers like Rite Aid, Pathmark, Jewel, and Fred Meyer.

The brand comprises three shampoos, five conditioners and ten styling products with a suggested retail price of $3.99. They are also available online.

Chicago CPG consultancy Mintel reports that brand extensions associated with salons or professional hair care are driving growth in the shampoo and conditioner market and higher pricing for new product launches. Mintel research says 28% of consumers believe salon products are worth paying a premium for.

Also, sales of products at beauty salons and barber shops began spiking in 2004, with the same trend for so-called "diverted" salon products like Matrix and Redken, sold at mass retail. Mintel says L'Oreal and Nexxus have benefited.