Openhearted Fathers

To grow market share in Belgium, Douwe Egberts was looking for a big and bold continuation of its “Something to Share” campaign.  

Insights: 

Brand DNA: Douwe Egberts aims to show that, over a cup of coffee, you can talk about many topics, including those that require a little more courage than others. 

Truth of the moment: Events in the past year marked renewed media attention to issues of gender inequality. 

Audience insight: Caring for others is still considered the role of women. Research indicates that fathers would like to spend more time with their children. However, certain pressures such as work prevent them from doing so. 

Strategic intent:

Invite fathers to think about the role they want to play and speak frankly about it with their family, over a cup of coffee. 

Creative idea: 

To launch the invitation, the iconic female icon on the Douwe Egberts packaging, which symbolizes the woman who takes care of her loved ones was replaced by a man. 

A new survey and Key Opinion Leader views on the social and cultural barriers that fathers are facing, provided credibility and extra conversation value for the campaign. 

Results: 

BBDO and Ketchum’s “Openhearted Fathers” campaign ran on TV and social media, via PR and influencers. Earned media reached more than 2 million views. Douwe Egberts’ grew market share in 2021.