Dishwashing brand transforms Sydney pool into giant kitchen sink

Finish, a dishwashing brand under RB Hygiene Home, launched a campaign last week beginning with an activation at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Icebergs Pool to raise awareness about water scarcity and smarter water use at home. The pool was transformed into the country’s largest kitchen sink, complete with a make-believe giant faucet.

The activation is part of an integrated marketing campaign across multiple touchpoints including TV, PR, social media, influencer marketing and point-of-sale. The campaign creative, PR, and social was conceptualised by DEC PR. From September 8 onwards, the TVC ad by Havas will run across free-to-air, demonstrating the water that is wasted by pre-rinsing dishes.

While Australia is the driest country in the world, it is the third largest consumer of fresh water, using an average 100,000 litres per person per year. Australians use up to 20 billion litres of water a year just through pre-rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher.

“The issue of water scarcity is something that can often be ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for many city dwellers and those who aren’t directly impacted by drought,” Aideen McDonald, group client director for DEC PR, told Campaign Asia-Pacific. “Here in Sydney, we are surrounded by water and it can be easy to forget the dire situation being experienced by our friends in rural areas.”

She added: “We needed a location that could replicate a kitchen sink and we wanted an iconic venue that would cause a stir, and so Bondi Icebergs was the perfect fit. It has a naturally heavy footfall and is probably one of the most photographed and ‘Instagrammable’ scenes in Sydney, which helped us broaden the reach of our program message to #FinishWaterWaste.”

There are two ways Australians can get involved. The first is to make a promise via social media by sharing a post demonstrating their favourite water saving tip, tagging #FinishWaterWaste; for every post, Finish will donate 40 litres of water to people that need it via Rural Aid. Consumers can also purchase select packs of Finish Quantum Ultimate in-store at Coles and Woolworths throughout September and early October, and Finish will donate the same amount of water for every purchase.

“As this is a truly integrated campaign, we will communicate the #FinishWaterWaste across all channels,” Arnaud Sudre, marketing director of RB Hygiene Home, told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

“We are launching the TV campaign and relaying the message in digital, seeding short video assets and imagery across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In addition, we have several other events planned to keep the momentum of over the next six months as the program continues.”

Finish has onboarded National Geographic as a global content partner, developing short form OLV and native content around facts on Australia’s water crisis and tips for reducing water consumption at home.