Face Up to Face Wash

We’ve all had a parent or caretaker tell us to “wash behind our ears,” but have you ever, Gatsby-like, have a billboard speak directly to you, specifically your hygienic habits? Well, certain dwellers of apartment complexes in the GTA have thanks to a clever campaign by john st. and Bioré.

Not washing your face before bedtime is the “ultimate skin sin,” but it is one that we are all guilty of from time to time. Maybe we just need a nudge.



“The problem is universal. But we knew the solution needed to feel personal, since we’re infiltrating people’s nighttime routine,” said Cam Boyd, Creative Director at john st., the agency behind the campaign. “That’s why we chose to use a mass media channel in a direct way, creating a billboard that feels like a text from a friend who knows you a little too well.”

Using census data to display the most common names in the adjacent apartment complexes to call out the non-washers, the solution is very personal. The billboards are running between 8PM and 2AM until May 16^th, but Bioré wanted to hedge their bets to make sure you aren’t ignoring your visage, and have also turned its reminders into contextual pre-rolls, because who isn’t watching gaming videos on your phone, face unwashed?

The campaign has also leveraged Quebecois pop-culture for the Quebec market creating content that refers to popular Quebec TV shows. So really no excuse to deny your dermis it’s nightly douse.