Bon Ami

Faultless Brands had a problem. While its Bon Ami powdered cleanser created a cleaning category more than 135 years ago as “America’s original powdered cleanser,” it was lost among a plethora of other cleansers that emerged in its wake over the years. Worse, its packaging and presence on shelf was overshadowed by other canned cleaners and a now crowded category. So, Faultless decided to Pivot.

First, our team dove into the Bon Ami’s venerated history. We looked at documents. And yellowed tearsheets of ads placed in magazines during the early 1900s. We chronicled the brand’s packaging changes, from the copy-heavy canisters of the 1930s to the mod and groovy packaging of the 60s, to the current look and feel.

In our research, we noticed that throughout the decades the brand consistently used only a handful of natural ingredients. That made us delve into the world of natural/organic products and organic rating systems, where we found Bon Ami had an A+ rating among the environmentally conscious—and where Bon Ami’s competitors often had failing grades.

That led to us considering a refreshed positioning—one where Bon Ami’s natural bona fides would be emphasized. Consumer research validated our approach. People loved knowing Bon Ami was America’s original “green” cleaner, with no harsh chemicals and no compromises to its integrity. We tried a number of ancillary positioning statements, including “gloveless cleaning,” that Faultless tested with audiences.

Once we honed the positioning, we focused on making that shift to natural cleaning live and breathe with the packaging creative. Through explicit copy changes and more organic feeling palettes and visuals, we made a greener and cleaner natural package. We even subtly tweaked the existing logo to represent the more natural approach, and tested new natural packaging variations with consumers.

Using feedback, we kept certain elements as a historic nod, but contemporized them for today’s audiences. Now, the Bon Ami brand and natural packaging is lighter, brighter. It subliminally amps up the organic nature of the product’s feature set, positioning it again for market dominance—just as it had dominated way back in 1886. And that made our clients at Faultless Brands pretty happy.

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