There are so many reasons why this Fixodent project might never have been made. Maybe it's too ambitious. Or it's off-brand. Or it has nothing to do with the real applications of the product.
Fortunately, the Procter & Gamble denture-adhesive brand wasn't overly concerned with that stuff. It went ahead and produced "Saving Aslan" anyway—a remarkable project that shows how even the most unglamorous products can produce compelling branded entertainment if they commit to it, and are open to embracing something bigger than their own specific mission.
Here, the challenge was imposing indeed.
A 9-year-old white lion in the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa had lost his teeth prematurely. Richardson and animal dentist Gerhard Steenkamp wanted to help. Fixodent got involved, through Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, and they got director Sven Harding to film the operation that gave Aslan his bite back.
It's an intense and emotional film. And perhaps most remarkably, the Fixodent messaging at the end doesn't feel tacked on. Indeed, it seems natural—and will likely make the viewer feel like Fixodent understands the emotional and physical impact when humans lose their teeth as well.
In short, it shows compassion in an ingeniously grand way, allowing a workaday (even perhaps shameful) product to completely transcend its own image. For a campaign that would have been easy to say no to, that's a resounding yes.
CREDITS
Client: Fixodent (P&G)
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Milan, Italy
Director: Sven Harding