AdMiration feature: Pantene’s “Fixins for Country Fried Hair”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Pantene’s “Fixins for Country Fried Hair” ad, which promotes the brand’s latest Damage Repair Collection of hair products.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a close up of a woman (country music artist Kelsea Ballerini) tying a silk scarf around her neck and dusting off her southern diner uniform. With a pat of her shining hair, she begins her rounds at the Pantene Diner. 

The scene pans to an old TV set, where viewers see Kelsea on screen, talking about hair struggles with the heat: “If all that bumpin’, teasin’, and bleachin’ has left you with some country fried hair, come get your fixin’s at Pantene. We have everything you need to get your hair healthy again.”

As it plays, two women with frizzy and dried out hair enter the diner and take a seat at a booth. Once it ends, Kelsea sighs and says, “I just love that one” before turning to take care of the two women. 

As they look at the menu, instead of a regular diner menu with breakfast options, the menu is filled with Pantene hair treatment options to choose from! Looking for “something healthy” the women select the treatment special: The Miracle Rescue Regenerative Hair Oil.  

When they say this, a woman with voluminous, healthy and shining blonde wavy hair walks by, to which Kelsea shares, “We have a really nice damage repair conditioner. It’s highly recommended.”

The women at the booth decide to order both, which Kelsea places on their table on plates, as if they ordered food. The scene shifts to the two women exiting the diner, now with shining, voluminous and healthy looking hair. 

The ad closes with Kelsea back on the TV screen, saying: “Pantene. Serving repair since 1945” ending with a shot of the outside of the Pantene Diner.

3 facts

• This was a very strong ad from Pantene, landing in the top 10% of US ads for both potential to drive short-term sales (Sales Impact: 97) and brand equity over the longer term (Brand Impact: 93). 

• The spot is highly distinctive and enjoyable, especially among women. While the ad is significantly above average on enjoyment and distinctiveness overall (Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm, Enjoyment: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm) it is even more enjoyable and distinctive for women (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Enjoyment: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) and compared to hair care ads overall. 

• The ad does a great job at communicating positive category attributes for both the brand and their new line. About two thirds of viewers agree Pantene makes hair healthier (66%), repairs damaged hair (62%) while half agree it protects hair (53%). They also give a higher than average ranking for both “Pantene is different from other hair care brands” (Brand Distinctiveness: 3.9 vs. 3.7 norm) and “Pantene delivers what they expect from a hair care brand” (Brand Meets Needs: 4.2 vs. 4.0 norm). These messages result in people seeing Pantene as different from other brands and gives them the sense that the brand meets their needs.

2 learnings

• It can be worth it to remind consumers of your legacy. After all, do consumers of today know how long your brand has been around and what it has stood for over time? In this case, Pantene does a great job at reminding viewers that they are a brand that has been around for years — 80 years to be exact! — which instills a greater sense of trust in viewers, with a third of viewers endorsing their trustworthiness. Kelsea shares this fact multiple times throughout the ad, stating how “Pantene has been taking care of hair since 1945.” 

• When done right, celebrities can be a great addition to your advertising. In this case, the inclusion of country star Kelsea Ballerini is a win for two reasons (1) she has been an ambassador for Pantene for several years now, promoting how their products help her ever-changing celebrity hair (2) she was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, where big, voluminous hair and country lifestyles (which we get into next) thrive. These two factors made for an excellent celebrity choice that made sense for both the brand and the campaign — which is what you look for in a celebrity feature.

1 reflection

Can you subtly weave in cultural or aesthetic trends into your advertising, without taking away from your brand or messaging? Pantene does an excellent job at embedding the trending “country lifestyle” that’s sweeping America, but does so in a way that seamlessly works for their brand and the new product line they’re promoting. 

Their brand ambassador, Kelsea Ballerini, easily fits into this trending aesthetic, being a country music star from Tennessee, as did their product line which is meant to treat dry and damaged hair. While the theme itself may be different for the brand, they wonderfully weave the two elements together to create something that really works and capitalizes on a current trend, with some people sharing “I love the music, and the feel and the whole country vibe with the diner and the boots and the beautiful hair and even the word country fried. Well, done, great commercial,""It has the signature gold Pantene color in the layout. The 1940’s diner denotes how long pantene has been around. Country fried hair is a winner of a phrase." and "It was a unique idea, I like the diner theme. I liked Kelsea Ballerini."

Pantene’s “Fixins for Country Fried Hair” ad is part of their new campaign of the same name, which promotes their latest line of damage repair hair products in the middle of the summer heat featuring their brand ambassador, country music star Kelsea Ballerini.

In addition to promoting their new line, the campaign reinforces the legacy of the brand, which has been around since 1945 (featuring the 80-year-old Procter & Gamble brand’s signature stunning models with silky tresses) and hops on the trending “country lifestyle" that’s taken hold of America. As Robert Reiss, Vice President of Pantene North America, shares: “The country lifestyle is having a moment in fashion and pop culture. This is an important cultural moment to take advantage of, and it’s a very natural fit for us.”

Brand ambassador and country star Ballerini adds: “I’ve put my hair through bleach, heat, color – you name it - and Pantene always brings it back. Right now, I am loving the return of Southern inspired style and Glam, and this campaign is all about having fun with your look, embracing your roots, and giving your hair the Fixins’ that it deserves.”

The brand highlights that damage such as split ends, dryness and frizz can pose real challenges that impact 80% of women, and extremely damaged hair can lose up to 78% of its inner oils, which is why Pantene created this new line so consumers can get the benefits of its Damage Repair Collection “without the $90 price tag.”

According to Javier Bonilla, Chief Creative Officer of P&G North America at Grey: “The creative aimed to address hair damage in a way that felt fresh, memorable, and true to real experiences. By tapping into Kelsea’s voice and persona, not just her celebrity, we created something that resonates with her fans and feels unmistakably authentic to who she is.”

In addition to their “Fixins for Country Fried Hair” ad, the campaign is set to launch across social media as well as IRL activations — including a Pantene diner on wheels, rightfully named The Pantene Fixins Truck! The truck is set to tour cities nationwide, offering complimentary samples, expert styling tips and more.

This spot was a dreamy, highly creative, retro hit from Pantene! And consumers agreed, with the ad landing in the top 10% of US ads for both potential to drive short-term sales (Sales Impact: 97) and brand equity over the longer term (Brand Impact: 93). 

The ad really resonated with audiences, who overall found it to be very distinctive (4.1 vs. 3.8 norm) and different from typical advertising for the category, helping it stand out, grab attention, be noticed and remembered. Viewers also found it to be enjoyable (Enjoyment: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm) and that the ad conveyed things of relevance to them (Relevance: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm).

It’s worth noting that these scores were even higher among women (the target audience) who found the ad to be even more distinct (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm), enjoyable (Enjoyment: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) and relevant to them (Relevance: 4.0 vs. 3.5 norm) after watching.  

In addition, the ad is so well branded — from the name of the diner to the menus to the plates of Pantene products and more — that audiences easily remember who the ad is for (Unaided brand recall: 81% vs. 69% norm), even though it’s a bit of a departure from the brand’s typical ads. This is a great example of how to use a cultural trend and a celebrity while still ensuring the whole narrative revolves around the brand — so people cannot fail to remember it's an ad for Pantene.

Viewers successfully connected to the ad emotionally — making the Pantene brand as a whole be seen as more appealing (Brand Appeal: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm), while also delivering product innovation news that is seen as new (New Information: 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm) and relevant to their needs (Brand Meets Needs: 4.2 vs. 4.0 norm). 

On top of that, the ad also does a fantastic job at communicating a number of important attributes about the Pantene brand, including that it: makes hair healthier (66%), repairs damaged hair (62%), and protects hair (53%).

Diving deeper into how consumers felt about the ad, overall the spot received a significantly higher than average love response (43% vs. 28% norm) and a good mixture of love and like throughout the ad, with spikes of love at key moments.

The first spike of love is at the beginning of the ad where various aspects of Ballerini are introduced (her neck kerchief, her uniform, her cowboy boots and her hair) and then the diner scene is established. There’s a small spike of laughter when she says “country fried hair” followed by a spike of love when the music begins and Ballerini says “we have everything you need to get your hair healthy again.” The biggest spike of love occurs when the blonde model with healthy hair walks by in slow motion. More love is shown as the Pantene products are introduced on plates and the second highest spike of love is seen when the two diner patrons with the frazzled hair walk out with beautiful hair, leaving strong memories of Pantene as the hero for hair health. 

Overall, Pantene delivered a gorgeous spot that effectively communicates the benefits of their new line of products and reminds viewers of their legacy in this creatively retro spot.

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "I like the concept of the diner but serving hair care instead of food. I liked the actor in it and thought it was a very clever ad."

• "The hair styles before and after. The body shine and volume of the people who already used it."

• "I liked the vintage diner look with patrons and waitresses with damaged and great hair"

• "I liked that the ad took place in a classic aluminium diner. I liked kelsea ballerini's role in the ad. I liked hearing that Pantene has been providing hair care products since 1945."

• "I love the music, and the feel and the whole country vibe with the diner and the boots and the beautiful hair and even the word country fried. Well, done, great commercial."

• "It has the signature gold pantene color in the layout. The 1940’s diner denotes how long pantene has been around. Country fried hair is a winner of a phrase."

• "It was a unique idea, I like the diner theme. I liked Kelsea Ballerini."

We loved this spot from Pantene that brought us back to their roots (and clearly is on a mission to help ours)! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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