Push to get into women’s knickers
A cheeky campaign launched last week by Underworks for its All Day Sock may well make competitors Bonds and Antz Pantz take note—as an assault on the women’s knickers market is next.
MD of Underworks, Sam Todaro, told B&T with 70% of women responsible for buying men’s socks, it wanted to start changing the way women think about the Underworks brand. And it’s launched Underworks’ first TVC to do so.
“It's a bit more cheeky in its approach and how the brand’s seen. There’s a lot of brands in the marketplace that are quite boring,” Todaro said.
Early in 2006 Underworks will release a “significant” marketing push to promote its new women’s underwear product, with a focus on “fashionability”, Todaro said.
“The brand is selling exceptionally well in the market and it has a loyal following. because the product is a great fit with great colours and continues to be in the top sellers weekly.
“Where we’re trying to take it next is more of an individual handwriting for Underworks. We don’t want to be like everyone else, we want to have our own identity in the market.”
Todaro added that the 2006 marketing push will target a slightly younger demographic - the under 30s, but won’t confirm what media the campaign will include.
Bonds general manager, Paul Gould, is not threatened by Underworks’ foray into the market.
“We welcome other brands actually putting something behind the category rather than just so often replicating the products that we do and delivering them at a lower price point,”he said.
Gould said Bonds has been the number one media spender for the past three years in the “highly active and aggressive” women’s underwear market, where around “30 or 40 brands have come and gone in the past 12 months”.
Bonds won’t reveal any of its marketing plans for 2006, but will launch its winter season in February. Its annual report claims new launches for 2006 will include the Bonds Intimates range headed by Sarah Murdoch.
Meanwhile, Antz Pantz marketing manager. Gordon Pont, said Holeproof will be sticking with echidna Rex in future advertising.
“Consumers love him. He’s this sexy, cheeky, slightly irreverent character that’s iconic. If you’ve got something iconic for your brand, you should leverage it,” Pont said.
The latest incarnation of Rex features ‘it’ girls Nicky Hilton and Kimberly Stewart. But because of contractual issues, Hilton will not feature in the next season (Autumn Winter) TVC.
Instead, Antz Pantz will use its “home grown hero” Megan Maitfield, who won an ‘it’ girl competition against 1300 young hopefuls to head Antz Pantz promotions which will support a new range, available from March 2006.
