I talk a lot about how powerful pop culture can be as an educator about health and social issues, and as a shaper of social norms. From USA for Africa's We Are the World song for African famine relief to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Hope for Haiti Now telethon, there have been many of these efforts over the years. Perhaps the most poignant example is when pop culture, particularly the entertainment industry, comes together in response to sudden tragedy. 

What reminded me was tonight's airing of the documentary (dramatically titled), When Pop Culture Saved America: A 9/11 Story on the Biography channel. Below is their description, and here's the full show on Hulu.

In the aftermath of 9/11, getting back to normal would not be a simple task. For those in the world of pop culture and entertainment, the challenge was how to help America achieve that goal--to cheer the country up during its darkest days. This documentary takes a comprehensive look at the days and months following the attack--to show how the non-news media pitched in to bring the nation together. Comedians, singers, actors, entertainers all did their part with concerts, telethons and specials. Television, movies, Broadway, music and even sports helped bring us back to the new normal. We'll also review the impact of the events of 9/11 on pop culture and how TV and films were changed forever.

Fundamentally, these highly visible pop culture shows and songs do several important things: They unify us, they acknowledge what we're all trying to make sense of, they give us permission to feel the emotions that the celebrities express, they invite us to eventually laugh in spite of the tragic losses, and at the right time they tell us that it's okay to move on with our lives.

And these are all things that every individual and organization can also do- each in their own way.

I just saw a new Unilever Dove ad promoting Dove's Men+Care. Reminded me how good Dove is at getting to know what really makes their customers tick, targeting their products and tailoring their messages, employing a variety of media platforms, and all the while maintaining their identity and authenticity. Their campaign (Ogilvy) launched with this Super Bowl Manthem ad last year:

Dove's success is rooted in listening. Just like they did to create their Campaign for Real Beauty which targets women, Dove started with deep research - The Dove Men+Care Global Study. The study revealed that even though men (late 30s to about 50) have reached a stage in their lives where they are comfortable with who they are, they do not always have comfortable skin to match. The number one skin complaint was dry skin. What resulted was Dove's Journey to Comfort program.

In a recent eMarketer interview Robert Candelino, marketing director for Dove's Men+Care, described the key insight this way:

“Journey to Comfort” is rooted in the powerful insight that our target male has experienced many unsung moments in his life, such as marriage, fatherhood and professional successes that amount to a personal journey. These moments have helped him reach a point of comfort in his own skin. By bringing to life the journeys of our target’s favorite athletes, Dove Men+Care was able to produce content on multiple platforms—including online, mobile and social media—that is compelling, relevant and organic.

The many Journey to Comfort ads beautifully leverage the metaphor "be comfortable in your skin" by connecting the personal meaning with good skin care; in other words, literally being comfortable in your own skin. This elevates Dove from being about personal care products to just being personal. They are so good at tapping into fundamental human wants and needs, and then linking their products to those core wants and needs. On top of that, Dove knows how to deliver their messages to overcome the most likely objection from their target audience of men. Who better to legitimize skin care for men than professional athletes... from MLB, NCAA, and the NFL. The explicit message in many ads- that each star is comfortable in his own skin, is delivered with humorous glimpses into their personal lives, and virtually no Dove product mentions. The implicit message of course, is that skin care is a manly thing to do.

One more ROI quote from Candelino:

"We believe that creating a rich, loyal community leads to brand affinity and results in sales."

I strongly recommend any large B2C organization looking to generate and sustain customer loyalty in today's rapidly changing marketplace, look to Dove as a great example.

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of green M&Ms?

When I was growing up in the '70s, everyone "knew" that green M&Ms were an aphrodisiac. Even if we didn't know what the word meant, we sure knew what it led to! Or what we believed it led to. Where the urban legend started, no one knows for sure. But what a great marketing idea! For years, Mars, the company that makes M&MS, denied the green M&M story. Then they decided to capitalize on it.

Here's the Valentine's Day story from a few years ago, excerpted from blogger David Emery's fine post. Mars dubbed green "the new color of love" for Valentine's Day. Special all-green packages of M&Ms were available through the holiday marked with a "disclaimer" that read, "Consumption of The Green Ones® may result in elevated romance levels. If you experience this effect, contact your significant other immediately." The idea was to stand out "amidst a sea of traditional red and pink products." And they did.

Mars was putting into action my favorite marketing axiom: If you can't fix it, feature it! They recognized how widespread the myth was, probably thought it was harmless, and figured out how to uniquely market what they then called "the Green One" while simultaneously positioning the brand to appeal more to teens and even adults.

Since then, "Miss Green" (the only female M&M) has done a racy Sports Illustrated swimsuit video commentary, a strip tease video, and a music video with Adam Lambert that has parental warnings for sexually provocative content and nudity (a naked Miss Green, not Adam!).

Can we create and capitalize upon harmless myths to promote health and social good... a pro-social placebo? Hey, maybe CDC will make asparagus the new green aphrodisiac!