let it out: the movie

Kleenex Invites Consumers into the Brand with Let It Out™ Olympic Campaign

If the sight of a blue couch in public places makes you want to sit down and share, you’ve probably seen the Kleenex let it out™ advertising campaign. Using the now-iconic Blue Couch and Good Listener format, Kleenex encouraged consumers to experience the emotional release that comes from letting out feelings across the full spectrum of human emotions.

As an Official Supplier to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, Kleenex tapped Taylor to integrate the Blue Couch thematic into its sponsorship. The mandate: Create an authentic, two-way dialogue with consumers. Get blockbuster media. And sustain the coverage and buzz before, during and after the Games.

The Taylor Knowledge Center conducted primary research to understand consumers’ relationships with the Olympic Games and identify emotional hot buttons, tapping into the minds of Moms, the key Kleenex target, as well as general market consumers, the secondary audience. Taylor’s research uncovered several key findings, most notably:

• Americans, particularly Moms, experience the Olympics through the lens of their children and use the games as “teachable moments.”
• Women and men are equally hungry for back stories, but are turned off by mainstream “over-produced” formats.

Based on these consumer insights, as well as over two decades of experience leveraging Olympic sponsorships, Taylor proposed a truly BIG idea: let it out: the movie. The 40-minute documentary features the back stories of current and legendary Olympic athletes, and infuses “guest star” appearances by consumers as they share their favorite Olympic Games moments and memories.

let it out: the movie premiered during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, with screenings in the U.S. and Beijing.

See the full movie at letitout.com.