Pascal Oparada
It used to be the darling soap of many households. It is a soap known by many for generations. Its attractive wrapper is always alluring.
For many years, LifeBouy soap, made by Unilever, held sway as a toilet soap of choice. It competed against top brands sauntering around today as the best, and won.
It was part of a status symbol to say you bathed or washed with LifeBouy. That automatically increased your perception among people. That was the LifeBouy effect.
LifeBuoy was that good until life happened to it. I am sure not many people still remember that it can still be found in shelves and stalls across the country today.
LifeBouy is still very much around but is squeezed by other brands which have encroached into the empire where it once reigned as the king. Not only has its empire been invaded, but the king also has long been dethroned and is gasping for breath.
When Dettol, made by Reckitt Benkiser, took the handwashing campaign to our doorsteps years ago, LifeBouy sought to resurrect, but it couldn’t match Dettol’s aggressive campaign.
Not that it didn’t try, but it didn’t stay long enough on the campaign trail for us to take notice. It quickly fizzled out from the scene – and from our hearts and minds.
Not until coronavirus happened to the world. One of the crusades against coronavirus is regular handwashing. It has been proven to be the most potent weapon against the monstrous virus.
In 2019, Unilever unveiled Nigerian musician, Omawumi Mbele, as brand ambassador for LifeBouy.
Unilever didn’t know then that the time would come when we would be constantly assailed with messages to imbibe regular handwashing as part of our personal hygiene, no thanks to coronavirus.
LifeBouy have been fighting the battle of its life with other brands and the auspicious time to shine finally came knocking – or so we thought.
“You have seen me promote LifeBouy, but I tell you to use any soap nearest to you to wash your hands.”
That was the statement from Omawumi, the Nigerian singing sensation, who is the brand ambassador of LifeBouy, that put a nail on the coffin of the brand.
Unintentionally, Unilever buried the chance – perhaps the only chance – LifeBouy would have had in the decades that it has been in the doldrums to make a comeback.
“For a brand that has been in limbo, what LifeBouy is doing with Onawumi is stupid,” says Ikem Okuhu, journalist and brand analyst.
Okuku echoed the thoughts of many who did not know or may have forgotten that LifeBouy is still very much around.
We didn’t know until Omawumi told us and also told us that LifeBouy is not important enough to be used to fight bacteria and other infectious diseases. What a missed opportunity.
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Like a comet that comes once in a lifetime, it would take the brand aeons to recover from this.
The competition is fierce and ruthless. Perhaps, owners of the brand have forgotten that you could easily be replaced.
Unilever, through Omawumi, told us to replace LifeBouy. It can’t be trusted. That is the essence of the message.
This is not a dirge for a brand that is trying to dig its own grave. It is a requiem for a brand that sought to rise, saw the opportunity to do so, but decided to buckle under its own weight. Tragic.
Isn’t there a remedy? Of course, there is. The pandemic is still very much around and rampaging too.
What Unilever should do is to redesign its campaign around coronavirus and make LifeBouy the only soap capable of battling the virus to the ground even though we know better.
A strong campaign is required to bring it back to the consciousness of the public.
It should also replace the brand ambassador. Her face on the brand is now associated with something else – distrust.
Omawumi is decent but her image as the brand ambassador has dented the brand.
We know that she didn’t design the campaign but any time consumers see her promoting the brand, it will remind them of the person who told them not to trust LifeBouy.
