CLEAR Men turns footballers Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr into detectives in new brand film

Male shampoo brand CLEAR has picked football superstars Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr as its new CLEAR Men ambassadors, in time for the upcoming football championship UEFA’s EURO 2024. The humorous campaign film depicts the two footballers as detectives cracking the case of a mysterious white trail.

Tapping on modern audiences’ love for watching crime dramas on streaming platforms, the film leveraged familiar television tropes to create a connection with people and portray the issue of dandruff in a way that is easy to understand.

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In the film, Haaland is seen as a detective investigating the appearance of mysterious white flakes left behind by male victims. He discovers that a bald crime boss has placed the wrong shampoo in the hands of the men.

The film also featured a similar white-flake catastrophe sweeping across Rio de Janeiro, before introducing the second face of CLEAR Men, Brazilian footballer Vinicius Jr. Both heroes eventually prove triumphant over the dandruff storm through the use of CLEAR Men shampoo.

While CLEAR has traditionally tapped on celebrity ambassadors for its campaigns, the choice of Haaland and Jr as new ambassadors marked a tonal shift in their communications. The humorous tone of the new film shifted away from the historical portrayal of CLEAR ambassadors as hyper-masculine celebrities. Instead, it aims at a more humanistic depiction that could appeal to a greater number of people, the brand said in a statement. 

“Both Haaland and Jr have been making waves globally with their legendary football feats, each milestone in their career a testament to their unwavering excellence. This spirit perfectly aligns with what CLEAR Men stands for as a brand — to be inspiring, pioneering and always pushing boundaries with what we do,” said Elsharkawy Mohamed, global brand VP CLEAR Men.

Developed by MullenLowe Singapore, the film is part of a 360 campaign that involves digital and instore activations. Instead of releasing a TVC, the creative team used media buys to feature movie-like trailers prior to the launch of the main film, as well as TikTok-styled content as the main form of sustained engagement.

“The new take of this CLEAR campaign, which styles its new football superstar ambassadors as detectives, instead of portraying them as typically excelling on the football pitch, aims to connect with new generations of consumers who are content-savvy and hungry for impactful storytelling,” said Subarna Prabhakar, global business director MullenLowe Singapore.

“I am excited to kick off this new campaign with CLEAR Men," said Haaland. "It was a fun challenge to step into a character role and I hope people find it entertaining. It’s a perfect partnership. I’ve had tons of hairstyles and CLEAR Men works great because it is made for men’s scalp and hair, so I don’t have to worry about dandruff, grease, or itchiness.”

"I am thrilled to be a part of this brand partnership, proudly representing and celebrating my Brazilian roots," added Jr.

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