BGH | Dads in Briefs | 2015
A Fear the Whole World Recognized / BGH "Dads in Briefs"
Summer in Argentina is brutally hot. Without air conditioning, dads at home start wandering around in nothing but their underwear. It's every family's worst nightmare. BGH turned this exact phenomenon into an ad.
The problem
Air conditioning is supposed to be a dull category, all about "comfort" and "energy savings." But this campaign went the opposite way. What it was selling wasn't coolness—it was the power to stop dads from walking around in their briefs.
The insight
It all comes down to one discovery: when it's hot, what families suffer through most is dad in his underwear. It's that sloppy sight everyone remembers from childhood. Fast Company called it a "grotesque recall." A generic fear that works no matter the country or the brand.
The idea
Black-and-white footage set to a heavy requiem. A dad wiping himself down with ice. A dad pulling the remote out from the folds of his body. Dads crouching down here, there, everywhere. The daughter's look of disgust as she takes the remote from under her father is perfect. All three spots end the same way: let's put clothes back on them, with BGH's silent air conditioner.
What happened
Made by Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi. It won multiple awards at D&AD in 2013, took a Gold Lion at Cannes in 2012, and was named one of Gunn Report's "20 Best Ads of the 21st Century."
Afterthought
A pudgy guy wandering around in his underwear turns out to be a fear shared the world over. Hats off to the courage it took to show it without flinching—and to the client's courage in signing off on it. Please, get that air conditioning installed. Right away.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2012
