The Insight

Vanish is a stain remover brand operating in the Laundry Additives category, with a purpose to help clothes live longer, brighter, and stain-free.

In conducting focus groups about the ‘Current State of the UK Wardrobe’, Vanish realised just how emotional our relationship with clothes really is: we wear our favourite garments over and over again. This is true for everyone, but particularly those with autism. 92% of autistic people have sensory sensitivity and 73% use familiar items of clothing to help regulate their senses and navigate the world. For this community, making clothes live longer really matters, especially girls, who are three times less likely to receive an autism diagnosis than boys.

The autistic community therefore needs to maintain consistency and familiarity in garment care and Vanish promises ongoing clothes maintenance so your clothes can remain looking and feeling the same, wash after wash. Based on this connection, a short film was created in partnership with Havas and Channel 4, winning the ‘Diversity in Advertising’ award and being granted £1m in free airtime across TV, VOD, and Social.

The Approach

We looked to bring the film to life outside of Channel 4, and across ITV and Sky as well as Social and Cinema. Aiming to reach our growth audience of young families, we secured spots in primetime shows like Gogglebox, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Takeaway, and Great British Bake-off, plus airtime around brand ambassador Christine McGuinness’ appearances on Lorraine and Sky News.

Across digital, we directed viewers to an information portal set up with our charity partner Ambitious About Autism and ran high-impact video via Good Loop, where user views translated directly to donations. But we didn’t just run the ad:

• We encouraged autistic young people to share their stories and their personal relationship with their favourite clothing items.
• Working with Havas and Energy, we created a pop-up museum at the Oxo Gallery on Southbank – showcasing precious clothing items alongside descriptions from the owners on why the items are so important.

The Results

Overall, the campaign drove significant community impact, brand love, and business results for Vanish:

• Vanish achieved its highest ever traffic to the site!
• Vanish’s share of the stain category grew +2% during the campaign period.
• New visitors to Ambitious about Autism grew +190% (vs. pre-launch) and Vanish provided access to support guides for 7,345 people (vs. 1,500 KPI).
• All metrics to do with the campaign rose significantly, including a 12% increase in awareness of the importance of familiar clothes for autistic people (vs. 5% KPI) and a 11% increase in awareness that there is a gender gap in Autism (vs 5% KPI).