With New Ad Campaign and Products, Lifebuoy Re-enters United Kingdom

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, presently, hygiene has become a big priority. Now, Lifebuoy is coming back to the United Kingdom from where it started. From this month, along with some new members of the family, the brand has re-introduced its classic red bar soap in stores across the UK.

Hand sanitizer gel, hand hygiene wipes, hand sanitizer spray, liquid handwash, and moisturizing hand cream + anti-bac – a hydrating cream enriched with antibacterial ingredients will also be included by Lifebuoy’s 2020 line-up.

Lifebuoy has released this animated ad to highlight its hand sanitizer offering, the ad shows the different use cases for the (liquid) sanitizer. Interestingly, we see that the moisturizing hand cream is also advertised alongside the sanitizer in the ad.

For the British public to keep their hands clean as they begin a cautious return to the new normality, Lifebuoy is also introducing sanitation stations in stores, cafés, and cinemas, making it easy.

Samir Singh, global executive vice president of Unilever’s skin cleansing category says, “For over a century, Lifebuoy has played a crucial role in helping to reduce the spread of infection. As well as getting our products to communities, we are on a mission to improve handwashing habits around the world, helping over one billion people since 2010.”

“This simple habit can make a huge difference, and we want to play our part by helping people do everything within their power to keep themselves and their communities safe through COVID-19.”

Chris Barron, vice president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division in the UK and Ireland, adds, “The re-introduction of Lifebuoy to the UK and Ireland market has never been more important than it is now. Our role is not just to provide people with great products to use at home, or on-the-go, but also to remind them about the importance of a good hand hygiene regime.”

Lifebuoy soap was created in 1894 as a result of rapid urbanization to help combat the disease and infection that ran rife in towns across Victorian England.

At the time, a Cholera epidemic prevailed and in Lifebuoy soap, Unilever founder William Lever provided an affordable, accessible way for communities to help protect themselves from the spread of the disease. The Cholera pandemic passed, but in 1918, the Spanish Flu followed. Years later, so did SARS, the H1N1 Flu, and now COVID-19.

A press release on the Unilever website mentions that brand Lifebuoy’s long-standing mission is to raise awareness of the importance of using soap in handwashing. It was reinforced through advertising, on-pack messages, and local campaigning. Lifebuoy became not just one of the world’s first consumer brands, but also an agent of social change (by forming the handwashing habit) in the face of the disease.

Much has changed in the years since then. But the central goal – to protect people by inspiring good handwashing habits – remains the same.