Head & Shoulders suffers “brand attack”

Head & Shoulders was my first brand manager role at P&G back in the Victorian age, so I have a special attachment to the brand. I still  do a quick shampoo aisle store check when I'm supposed to be doing the family shop. And I use the brand. 

So, my attention was grabbed by an email this morning from Greenpeace, suggesting I blog about a "brand attack" website targeting Head & Shoulders. The angle of attack is P&G's use of palm oil that is supplied by companies destroying rain forests,  the natural habitat of endangered species.

Here's some thoughts on this.

1. Sophisticated marketing

The first thing that struck me is how professional the brand attack website is, that you can see here. This is not some low budget, cheap looking bit of ranting and raving. Its a highly polished, well argued bit of communication. 

2. Brand attack

The Greenpeace attack against a single brand is interesting, as this feels more effective to me than targeting a company. So, as a Head & Shoulders user, I feel more personally touched by the message than I would if the arttack was against the parent company, P&G.

3. Amplification via PR

By having a good story, and making it personal by linking the deforestation to a threat to orangutans and tigers, the campaign has benefited from amplification via press coverage. 

4. Easy involvement

The smartest thing of all to me is the use of digital to make it super easy to get involved. The last page of the website has a pre-prepared email to P&G CEO AJ Laffley. I just need to enter my details, click, and bingo off it goes. This is a good exampe of how digital can power a brand. Over 50,000 people have signed up to the campaign.

I'm impressed by Greenpeace's digitally empowered and well crafted brand attack campaign. However, as a Head & Shoulders user it wouldn't stop me using the brand. What it might do though, if it keeps up enough momentum, is make enough negative noise in the media to force P&G to re-think its sourcing policy.

What do you think about the campaign? And what should P&G do in response?