Downy, the Procter & Gamble fabric softener, wants to give you a hug. It wants to give everyone a hug. It wants everyone to give everyone else a hug.
So, stop what you're doing and hug!
The brand on Thursday unveiled the four-minute video below, part of a campaign themed #hugmore. It features four sets of couples: twin brothers, two sisters, lifelong friends and childhood sweethearts. We hear heartfelt stories of their relationships, and at the end, the interviewer—Lisa Haisha, described in a statement as a "spiritual teacher and motivational speaker"—asks them to hug.
The long embraces are coupled with the people explaining how the hugs made them feel, and the video closes with Downy's reminder to hug more. It tugs on the heartstrings, and the branding is minimal—in fact, it's most evident in the video's title, "Be More Huggable With Downy."
The brand elaborates: "The most enjoyable hugs should linger for about 20 seconds—the amount of time it takes for the bonding chemical oxytocin to be released. Fortunately, fabrics washed in Downy feel soft and smell fresh, making people more huggable. This is because Downy contains scent molecules called perfume micro-capsules (PMCs) that provide long-lasting scent, and softening molecules that deposit on the surface of fabrics to soften clothes—making them touchable, wearable and enjoyable."
In other words, come for the hug, and stay for the PMCs.
