MUMBAI: Nivea Men started its new campaign #CoveringUpFails with a humorous take on a spy’s undercover mission, to highlight the importance of solving the problem of body odour instead of just covering it up.

In a category that’s cluttered with tales of the superficial strength of fragrances, Nivea Men continues to challenge norms and differentiate itself as an actual solution provider. The campaign hits on the problem of failing deodorants and the resulting emergence of body odour during the day. And in turn, establishes the product – Nivea Men body deodorizer as the real solution to the problem.

Targeting men’s habit of relying on quick fixes and shortcuts to take care of all of their problems, including that of body odour, the campaign brings alive the reality of these ‘failing cover ups’. It also aims to educate men on the importance of solving issues at the root by not depending on deodorants, as they only cover up body odour.

Nivea India marketing director Sunil Gadgil said, “The Indian consumers’ attitude towards body odour is ‘Not my problem’. The aim of this campaign is to create relevance of body odour for consumers without triggering their defence mechanism of ‘Not for me’. This film is part of a series of films created by Nivea India to seed the practice of ‘Odour control at the source’ aimed at consumers with the habit of spraying a fragrance on their shirt for masking the odour.”

The objective has been approached by looking through Nivea’s lens of care and asking– Who would require a fail-proof cover the most? The answer – An undercover spy. A man on an extremely important mission, where his identity is of the utmost importance to his success. The culmination of these thoughts, the digital film by DigitasLBi – ‘An Epic Undercover Fail’ urges men to prepare better for every one of life’s important missions – at work, with family, in public, or when with a loved one, as covering up always fails.

DigitasLBi, India creative director Akshat Bhardwaj said, “We had a powerful proposition in place –ordinary deodorants just cover up body odour and don’t get rid of it. So, we thought that it would be great fun to bring this out by riding on the image of a popular culture icon (Agent Double O Seven), and inserting a body odour situation into one of his undercover missions.”

With over three million views in just a week, the film continues to gain popularity among the digital audience and drive conversations around the campaign #CoveringUpFails. The three-week long campaign engages consumers around topics of body odour, deodorants, and the epic fail of Agent Double O Seven. Moreover, the story of the Agent is being promoted with quirky posters across social media as the spy’s latest film release. It’s a campaign for men who look for solutions, for men who like to be in control, and for men who don’t take shortcuts, especially when it comes to body odour.